by Ronald Nzimora

The mere fact that your church doesn’t talk about it, doesn’t mean it’s not valid. I don’t want to sound too religious here but all I’ll say is. Try it sincerely just once. The results you get will not only amaze you, you’ll become addicted to tithing.

 

Fair warning! I’m a staunch adherent of the Catholic faith. If you’re one don’t just dismiss this article, read it and let me have your opinion on this. We learn better together!

You’ll have heard it in church a lot of times already. If you want to succeed in any area of your life, you have to do the religious needful and pay your tithes.

In the Pentecostal churches, it’s hammered upon to a point of pain, why it’s necessary to do this. Of course, each time a Pastor talks about the importance of making tithe payments, they often readily quote the Bible.

Malachi 3: 8-12

Here’s the passage, take from the New International Version of the Bible

 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. ¹¹ I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. ¹² “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

To watch them harp the payment of tithes, they sometimes betray the fact they seem more concerned about getting the money rather than the church member getting the benefits.

Pssst! I won’t even go there today. This article will aim to answer three big questions:

a. Should you pay tithes or not?

b. If you should, should only those that earn money pay tithe/ or everyone? (By everyone I mean even students, and the unemployed)

c. Again, if you should, who and where should you pay it to?

Let me attempt to answer this question with a story. Don’t worry. It connects.

I remember that day clearly. It was in 2001. My friend Jefs had just come back to school from a weekend trip home. He told me he didn’t have enough money. I was incredulous. “Dude,” I said, “You just got back from home. How can you not be without money?”

“I paid my tithe today and bought some stuff,” he replied

I was even more bewildered, “You mean you took your money and gave it away for no reason?“

That day Jefs explained to me how the tithe system works. You give and God gives you back. But I simply refused to accept his explanation for two reasons:

 

I. Jefs has said you needed to give back to God 10% of what you earned!

As far as I knew, Jefs was a mere student. He wasn’t earning a kobo in his life. I pointed this out to him and he said it meant every money that actually come into your possession. I didn’t quite believe that I actually earned money when my father gave it to me.

II. I told Jefs I didn’t believe it was really necessary to give the money to the Church. It would serve a better purpose if it was given away to a charity I reasoned.

So I didn’t believe in the concept of tithing and anytime it came up for discussion among my mates, I was quick to deride anyone supporting it.

Fast forward to 2010, I was in a conference as an invited speaker and my mentor who was addressed the audience explained the concept of tithing and how he doesn’t ever miss fulfilling his obligation.

“Hmmm. There could be something with this tithe thing, if Dr. Is talking about it so passionately”, I thought.

So I decided to give it a try…

I totaled up my earnings for the month, withdrew 10% of it and went to the church and put it into tithe box.

In a couple of days my secret fears were confirmed.

It Worked!

Almost by magic, it seemed I was stumbling into more opportunities for advancement. I actually doubled my earnings the next month without necessarily doing any more work. It seemed like my experiment was a success.

Of course, I thought it was all a fluke and after about 3 months, stopped. And then I began to get sub-par results. Then I started again. And it all went back up again. Then I stopped again for about one year..

One day, I just decided to begin tithing again. And since then I have not stopped.

Now’s here’s what I now believe one hundred percent.

Tithing Is No Fluke!

Tithing works! It works so well, it’s like having the answers to an exam before you go in to write it!

If it really does work, why then are most people leery of it and don’t even want to be told about it?

Well, here are some common misconceptions about tithing

1. My church doesn’t talk about it, so I’m sure it’s not necessary.

Most Catholic churches (I’m a member) really do not talk about and teach the concept of tithes. Yes, they may have a tithe box and gloss over it in sermons but they don’t actively promote it to members.

 

The mere fact that your church doesn’t talk about it, doesn’t mean it’s not valid. I don’t want to sound too religious here but all I’ll say is. Try it sincerely just once. The results you get will not only amaze you, you’ll become addicted to tithing.

2. If I tithe, I’m just making the pastors richer, and I hate to do that

Truth is, when you tithe, you’re not doing it for the Pastor or church, you’re doing it for yourself. Here’s the benefits that chapter in the Bible promises for the tithe payer.

I really do not care what they do with the money after I pay it, I simply go on my way expecting God to fulfil his own end of the agreement.

3. Most churches are already rich. Why I’ll just give the money to charity, or give it to the beggars on the street.

That sounds like a good idea but the truth is, if you think the churches will mismanage the funds, believe me, you won’t believe the charity organizations will do a better job either.

Besides, it’ll be hard to give beggars 10% of your hard-earned money. Tell me who does that?

The right place to give your tithe is the place where you receive spiritual upliftment and worship. If you’re a Muslim, give it to your Ulama. You’ll shock them and reap the rewards.

Lastly, you’re not under obligation to pay a tithe if you’re unemployed and not earning something.

If you’re a student or a job seeker, do not listen to fat cow Pastors who’d want you rip you off by taking away the little you have. Tithe paying is only for earners.

I also think using the term “pay your tithe” is wrong. It’s not a payment. It’s an investment in your life and in your future. When you see it that way, it’s esy to follow through and do it consistently, without fail.

To learn more about the topic of tithing, I suggest you read this book, called ‘The Miracle of Tithing’ by Mark Victor Hansen.

It reveals in simple terms written from the perspective of an ordinary man like you who isn’t an interested party (by this I mean, he isn’t a Pastor, Bishop or whatever. He’s simply an entrepreneur who has seen tithing work for him).

Reading this book made me never go back to my old days of pinching and hiding. You can download a copy by going to the link below.

http://kidsafe.com/654/the-miracle-of-tithing-free-e-book-by-mark-victor-hansen/

I’m sure Mark wouldn’t mind.

What’s your opinion about tithing? Please comment below.

 

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Ronald Nzimora runs Profits Marketing Systems Limited, an online marketing communications and publishing firm. He’s also invested in two more. He tweets from @ronaldnzimora