What Pastors Won't Tell You About Tithes
"And my people shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free" "Will
a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say wherein have we robbed
thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse for ye have robbed
me even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store house and
prove me now herewith saith the lord of hosts if I will not open the windows
of heaven and pour out a blessing, that there would not be room enough to
receive it." Malachi 3 : 8 -10
By Kunle Oshobi
The above quoted scripture is probably one of the most quoted in the bible.
Unfortunately, it is being quoted out of context and used as a weapon of
mass intimidation, manipulation, extortion, oppression, cajolery and
outright lies and deceit by some church leaders to collect 10 per cent of
the gross income of their church members who have been hoodwinked into
believing that they are doing God's will.
Before I go into the details of this discourse, I want to state
categorically that I am a God-loving, bible-believing Christian who has the
fear of God in his heart. I am also not writing this article to undermine
any church or pastor, but to let people realise the truth about tithes and
remove the yoke placed by some pastors upon them. I also want to state
categorically that I strongly believe in giving to the church for the sole
purpose of propagating God's work and the Christian ministry. I will
continue to encourage all Christians to give their all to God as exemplified
by the widow's mite which Jesus Christ himself referred to in the bible.
Now, back to Malachi 3:8-10, the first question one should ask is who was
this message directed at? The answer lies in the book of Numbers 18:25-28
which states that "The Lord commanded Moses to say to the Levites, when you
receive from the Israelites the tithe that the Lord gives you as your
possession, you must present a tenth of it as a special contribution to the
Lord. This special contribution will be considered as the equivalent of the
offering which the farmer makes of new grain and wine. In this way you would
also present the special contribution which belongs to the Lord from all the
tithes which you receive from the Israelites. You are to give this special
contribution for the Lord to Aaron the priest."
>From the above, it is clear that it was the Levites that were directed to
pay a tithe they collected from the Israelites to the priest who represents
God and not the people of Israel. It was these Levites that were being
referred to in the book of Malachi as those who rob God. A thorough study of
the book of Malachi would reveal that in those days the Levites were
collecting the tithe from the people of Israel and not remitting a tithe of
it to the house of God, hence Malachi's statement which is now being quoted
out of context.
To understand what tithe really means one would have to understand the
social reasons and cultural/religious setting within which it was situated.
This concept of tithes was properly explained in the bible as stated in the
laws of the tithe which can be found in the books of Leviticus 27:30-34,
Numbers 18:25-31 and Deuteronomy 14:22-29. Upon reading these passages one
would understand what tithes really mean, but unfortunately most pastors
prefer to neglect these passages that tell us the true meaning of tithes and
emphasise on Malachi 3:8-10 which was directed to the Levites of that time
to remit the priest's share of the tithes they collected to him. It is
worthy of note that Malachi does not even define what tithe is and how it
should be paid.
The definition of tithes, as practised today, was manufactured by modern day
pastors to suit their purpose as it is completely in contrast with what is
in the bible and it only seeks to manipulate Christians to believe that God
requests 10 per cent of their gross income from them.
So what is tithe and why did God request that it be paid to the Levities?
The answer can be found in the following passages: Leviticus 27:30-32 which
states that "one tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit
belongs to the Lord. If a man wishes to buy back any of it he must pay the
standard price plus an additional 20 per cent. One in every ten domestic
animal belongs to the Lord. When the animals are counted, every tenth one
belongs to the Lord." And Deuteronomy 26:12 which states that "every third
year give the tithe, a tenth of your crops to the Levites, the foreigners,
the orphans and the widows, so that in every community they will have all
they need to eat."
The above quoted passages clearly tell us what tithe is and the reason why
God directed the people of Israel to pay tithes. It is very evident that it
was a social arrangement for the less privileged in the Jewish society of
that time. It was also meant to take care of the Levites because they had no
land or property of their own (today, pastors are amongst the wealthiest
property owners in Nigeria). This social arrangement is obviously not
relevant to us today. It also states that every third year is the year of
tithing, not the weekly/monthly tithes being extorted from church members
today.
Another passage illustrates the true meaning of tithes properly and also
states clearly that tithe is not money. Deuteronomy 14:22-29 says: "Set
aside as tithe a tenth of all that your fields produce each year then go to
the one place where the Lord your God has chosen to be worshipped and there
in his presence eat the tithes of your grain, wine and olive oil and first
born of your cattle and sheep. Do this so that you may learn to have
reverence for the Lord your God always. If the place of worship is too far
from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the Lord
has blessed you with, then sell your produce and take the money with you to
the one place of worship, spend it on whatever you want ,beef, lamb, wine,
beer and there in the presence of the lord you and your family are to eat
and enjoy yourselves. Do not neglect the Levites who live in your towns for
they have no property of their own. At the end of every third year, bring
the tithe of all your crops and store it in your towns. This is food for the
Levites since they own no property and for the orphans, foreigners and
widows who live in your towns. Do this and the lord your God would bless you
in everything you do."
>From the above passage, it is very clear that tithe is not money and it is
not the exclusive preserve of the Levites (church). It was a religious
practice in those days to give reverence to God and to celebrate God in his
place of worship. The Levites were only included for the main reason that
they had no land of their own and that reason is not relevant in today's
society. Yet some pastors would tell you that you are cursed and would not
go to heaven if you don't give them 10 per cent of your gross income. All
this hypocrisy would not have bothered me if all the money being collected
was being used to propagate God's work. But the truth as we all know today
is that this money is being used to finance lavish, flamboyant and exotic
lifestyle that is unbecoming of a man who truly claims to serve God, as a
pastor who is expected to be meek and humble like our Lord Jesus Christ was.
As a concluding part to this article, I would want to refer us to the book
of Hebrews, which was written to the early Christians. This provides
irrefutable proof that Christians are not meant to pay tithes as the
priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ does not require it.
Hebrews 7:5, says: "And those descendants of Levites who are priests are
commanded by the law to collect one tenth from the people of Israel, that is
from their own countrymen even though their countrymen are also descendants
of Abraham."
>From this verse, we can jump to verses 11-13 which say: "It was on the basis
of the Levitical priesthood that the law was given to the people of Israel.
Now, if the work of the Levitical priests had been perfect there would be no
need for a different kind of priest to appear, one who is in the priestly
order of Melchizedek not of Aaron. For when the priesthood is changed, there
also has to be a change in the law. And our Lord of whom these things are
said belonged to a different tribe of Judah and Moses did not mention his
tribe when he spoke of priests."
The above passage is self-explanatory and it states clearly that the
practice of tithing has no place under the priestly order of our Lord Jesus
Christ. In fact, the passage suggests that the collection of tithes is
belittling of the priestly order of our Lord Jesus Christ. It states that it
is wrong for us as Christians to receive or pay tithes and is not relevant
to us as Christians because we belong to a superior priestly order.
Once again, I would like to state that this article is not meant for us as
Christians to revolt against the church or our pastors. It is just meant to
establish the biblical truth about tithes and remove the yoke from people
who labour to pay tithes-not required of them by God-while their pastors are
living luxuriously. Today, many pastors see the church as their personal
business and even fraudulent people are opening up churches so that they can
have access to people's tithes and use it for their personal comfort. I
encourage all of us as Christians to remain vigilant and continue to serve
God in truth and in faith to the glory of his holy name. Amen.
Another point of note is: how come out of the 613 biblical laws of Moses
which were handed out to the people of Israel, it is only an adulterated
version of the law of tithe that is still being practised today, apart from
the Ten Commandments? How come we are no longer required to offer burnt
sacrifices? How come we no longer stone people to death for sinning? The
truth is that only tithing was dug out of the laws of Moses because it
presents material benefits to the collectors of tithes. Given that most
Christians do not study their bibles and depend on their priests to guide
them through, it was easy for pastors to pick a passage in the bible
(Malachi 3 : 8-10), quote it out of context and use it to manipulate the
flock into parting with 10 per cent of their income. Furthermore, it is
worthy of note that neither Jesus Christ nor any of the apostles ever
preached about or collected tithe. In fact, in the bible, Jesus Christ only
spoke about tithes in Luke 11:42 which states that: "But woe unto you
Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue all manner of herbs, and pass over
judgement and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave
the other undone." Here we can see that Jesus Christ is rebuking the
Pharisees for laying emphasis on tithes instead of the more important things
of the spirit, like our pastors are doing today.
In Acts 15, we find outlined what the apostles all agreed was necessary for
the newly converted Gentiles to practise, and by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit of God, tithing is conspicuously missing. Yet, what is one of the
very first legislated duties taught to Gentile converts by the Church today?
It is that they must tithe their annual salaries to the Church. Where did
this unscriptural law of Christian tithing come from?
Notice this telling bit of history from the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1963,
volume 22, page 253, 'TITHES'). "Tithes in Christendom--The earliest
authentic example of anything like a law of the State enforcing payment
appears to occur in the capitularies [Ecclesiasticals] of Charlemagne at the
end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century. Tithes were, by that
enactment, to be applied to the maintenance of the bishop, clergy, the poor,
and the fabric of the church. In the course of time the principle of payment
of tithes was extended far beyond its original intention. Thus, they became
transferable to laymen and saleable like ordinary property, despite the
injunctions of the third Lateran Council; and they became payable out of
sources of income [not just farming and herding, but other trades and
occupations and salaries paid in the form of money] not originally
tithable."
The Catholic Church knows its own history. Here is how tithing got back into
the Church after being absent for nearly five centuries:
"As the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary
to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the
clergy. The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law... The earliest
positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of
the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the [canons] of the Council of
Macon in 585."--The Catholic Encyclopaedia.
They "extended" their base of tithe collecting to eventually include all
forms of income. All Christian scholars know that although money was in wide
use in ancient Israel, it was never a titheable commodity. But modern
pastors don't want tithes of goats or oil or corn, they want money-cold,
hard cash! God has a word to the "shepherds of the sheep", and it is the
very same message that He had for the Levites in the book of Malachi. And it
is this:
"My people have been lost sheep, their shepherds have caused them to go
astray" (Jer. 50:6).
Were Israelites aware that they were being led astray by their spiritual
leaders? Not most, and neither are Christians today aware that they are
being led astray by their spiritual leaders.
- Oshobi is a businessman based in Lagos.
________________________________
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
_______________________________________________
Ugandanet mailing list
[email protected]
http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet
UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including
attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way.
---------------------------------------
