By Olatunkobo Odunuga
The above was among the questions asked of me at the forum of a Pentecostal Church. I know it is a very sensitive issue because I have observed that many church authorities would rather that members of their churches get away with “murder” than default on tithing.
The average pastors may “wink” at the misbehaviour of the randy choirmaster, who make “mid-wives” or concubines of the single and married choristers he oversees. I also know from personal experience that it is indeed a very sensitive issue from what transpired about 15 years ago when I made the audience aware I would touch briefly on tithe before the main message. Come and “see” the silence that instantly pervaded the hall.
If a pin dropped, one could have heard the sound a mile away. Unfortunately, there was no rear door of escape behind the “pulpit” in event of missiles. But by the time I addressed the issue beyond the narrow pharisaic orientation they were familiar with, the audience in the large hall relaxed and I was also relieved from the premonition of impending danger!
The following response to this question will be from a broad perspective, because of its global sensitivity, and of recent had been on the front burner in the Body of Christ internationally. The main references to tithing are in the Old Testament scriptures.
Some schools of thought believe that Matthew 23: 23 is a New Testament support, but other schools of thought posit that contextually the Lord was addressing the Scribes and the Pharisees; not the disciples or members of the Church and that the entire discourse in Matthew 23 :13- 39 was before Christ died on the cross, hence Judaism and the Law were still in vogue, though in transition.
I think it is about time that this masquerade, christened Tithe be de-robed and demystified. It has caused so much upheavals in recent times. It is probably mentioned audibly or subtly more times within twenty-four hours in all churches than throughout the entire first century.
Too many people counsel people to pay tithe so that things will not be tight for them as if the spelling of tithe is tighte. I was in a forum about thirty years ago, a young man probably in his forties was giving testimony of how God delivered him from near-death illness.
He told us that because of fear that he might not recover, he delegated someone to urgently send his tithe for that month to his church. I would have expected that he would, first of all, have searched his heart to recollect people he had offended or defrauded so that he could make peace with them.
There is nothing actually mysterious or mystical about Tithe. It simply means one-tenth, that’s all. I observe that the average Christian stands tall or excited because he gives 10% of his income for kingdom needs. Whereas in Matthew 5: 20 in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord of the Universe declared that the righteousness practice expected of His disciples (followers) must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, which for them was just 10% until when a new Sheriff came to town, by the name John Zechariah, to despatch Judaistic practices of the Law and Prophets with a new message of the Kingdom [Matthew 3: 2; Mark 1: 15; Matthew 11: 13; Luke16:16]. The message embracing also “weightier matters” !
I had the privilege to have taught Introduction to Islam in the Seminary a few years back, so I’m aware that Moslems also pay something akin to tithe which they call Zakat, and even offerings called Sadaqat. The Lord didn’t mince words in Luke 14: 33 when He said we cannot even be His disciples or followers if we do not subscribe and ascribe all we have to Him.
In essence, for Kingdom agenda, there would be occasions when far more than 10%, even all may be required of us. In spite of such occasions, God will still meet our every need and necessities, but He is not bound to meet our wants. For instance, if a WAEC holder asked God for the job of the CEO of a blue-chip company,
He won’t grant the request. His need is actually resources for further his education. But if a missionary asked God for a car or a pick-up for use in the mission field, God may give him a high four-wheel-drive jeep because that is what is needed for the tough terrain he is sending him to. That is the essence of living by faith. In fact, as Hank Hanegraaff suggested, “we may end up in serious trouble if God grants all our desires”.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, started early in life with paying 50% as “tithe” in lieu of the traditional 10% and later in life ended with 95.2%. That was a man of God indeed, who often preached five times a day, preparing the message for the next “crusade” ground on the back of his horse. He preached In a particular city, and for the next 100 years and beyond, no-one sold or drank alcohol in that city, whereas nowadays brothels and beer-parlours may be situated for years opposite a church.
We need help from above! In a book, Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church to Grow by C. Peter Wagner, Professor of Church History and Spiritual Warfare at Fuller Theological Seminary, USA, I read of an American billionaire, Letourneur, who initially was giving 90% of his income to Church /Mission and thereafter give the tithe of the remaining 10%. My God!
The testimony of Letourner was that as he gave to God with shovels, God gave him in return with wheelbarrows. In the same book, Stanley Tam started off ceding 51% shares to God in his chain of businesses, making Him the major shareholder and over years gradually increased God’s shares to 100%. To me, that seems he was later earning his livelihood from an organization now owned by God. How many of such superlative level of living epistles are on our own terrain? Not even this writer!-TO BE CONTINUED