Tithing and Today’s Christendom.

I’m a Christian. I accept that tithing is encouraged by both the Old Testament and the New Testament in the Bible. And I believe in tithing. I however don’t believe in the interpretations given to tithing in today’s Christendom. It’s not written anywhere that tithing must be performed before God can answer prayers. And neither is it written anywhere that the only way to enter the kingdom of God is through tithing. It is an expression of gratitude to God but definitely not the only way to thank God for His blessings, protection and grace. Therefore, there is no reason for pastors to turn it into a decree that must be obeyed by their congregations. God actually prefers and indeed, encourages us to give whatever we can afford and, in a cheerful manner too. These days however, many of the so-called new generation pastors have turned tithing into a compulsion. They make it look like God has a bank account that must be filled with money at every turn. The fact however remains that the pastors are more interested in piling a lot of cash into their churches’ coffers for their own personal purposes.  

The urge to tithe needs to come from the heart of the giver, and not by coercion or some subtle emotional blackmail as is being practiced by many pastors in the modern-day Christendom. As if he already knew what those “Pentecostal” pastors would do after he must have departed the sinful earth, Jesus Christ is known to have denounced the Pharisees not really for tithing but for not observing and practicing the principle of justice, fairness and mercy while tithing. Jesus admonished them thus: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law; justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” Matthew 23:23 (ESV). 

These days, the scribes and Pharisees of old have been replaced by scam artists, corrupt politicians, drug dealers, thieves and sundry criminals whose sources of wealth are filled with dirt. And unlike Jesus, today’s “new generation” pastor is only interested in having his church’s bank account filled with money so that his personal desires can be taken care of with such money. They don’t care about the behaviors or the givers’ sources of money. The so-called men of God are always being presented with cash, expensive gifts of cars and air planes while turning a blind eye to the atrocities of the givers. And, in turn, the pastors pay and bless their benefactors unashamedly while completely ignoring the poor people who sincerely give their “widow’s mite”. Fortunately, it’s God that decides who gets blessed, not some mere mortals that parade themselves as “men of God”.