Tithe and offering
Founder of Lagos based, Latter House of Glory, Pastor Oladimeji Animashau has said it is the height of ignorance and arrogance for any believer to brag about paying tithe and offering before God.
In his online message today May 17, Animashau stated that it is an abuse of God’s mercy and grace for any child of God to link his prosperity to his giving in any form; stating that God does not at any point in time wait for our money before he blesses us.
He said it is sad that many children of God come off with an air of arrogance when they get blessed and start telling people that they were blessed because they paid their tithe and offering.
He said church leaders have not helped matters either; adding that they have made people believe that until they give, God will not bless them “as if when God saved them they paid God money before he saved them”
According to him, “every child of God should learn to appropriate the mercy of God and have the understanding that it is mercy that has brought them to the position they are. There are many people who don’t pay tithe and offering and yet have material blessings. It is the prerogative of God to bless people. There are people who are hard workers and who also give and yet are not as rich as some people who don’t give. If God has blessed us materially, it is for a purpose and it is the mercy of God that brought about the blessing not that we did anything special to earn it.”
While stating that he was not discouraging people from giving, he said “any giving we do towards God’s work or to people must be done with a heart of humility and the knowledge that it is a privilege because in the first place we did not bring anything to this world. And certainly we won’t take anything out. So why brag about what we give.”
Animashau said further, “What God wants is a heart of generosity. God is looking at your heart not your hand. When the heart is free and right there is no limit to what we can give. It is a lie to say if you don’t tithe things will be tight for you. God loves a cheerful giver not a grumbling disgruntled giver.”
He noted that some church leaders have the tradition of engaging the services pastors whose business it is to raise funds. “There are pastors who find it difficult to give when they are approached for help but they keep putting pressure on their members to give.
“They sometimes go to the extent of bringing in pastors from other ministries to come and raise funds in their church. They want their members to give even when they are not being led to give. But when people come to them for help they will tell the people they want to hear from God.”
Giving further insight into the issue of tithe and offering, he said, “Giving is not necessarily related to income. It is not the amount you give that determines whether it is accepted before God or not. The people of Macedonia according to Paul gave out of their poverty. They gave out of a heart of generosity. That is the kind of heart that God wants from us. The widow gave a mite and Jesus said she gave more than the rich people in the temple. You can’t bribe God with tithe and offering. Don’t let people cajole you to give. God does not love a cajoled giver.”
Story by Gbenga Osinaike