Why I Will Not Pay Tithe

"The people there were more open-minded...and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true."

 (Acts 17:11 GNT)

My friend Deji had a problem. He came into the group chat with very worried words:

"Guys,' Deji started, "Do you pay tithe on your gross income or net income?"

It was a seeming simple question, but it brought up an uproar in a Whatsapp group filled with diverse intellectuals.

"The New Testament Christian is not supposed to be religious about gross or net or 10%," Ovie started, 'He is supposd to give liberally"

"From my understanding, you pay on what enters into your account" postulated John, who schooled in the UK. "If 500 enters your account, you pay 50".

"But you've earned more!" Deji retorted, "The tax is yours, you've just paid it to the government.

"Ehn, go and pay more na!" Funto replied. Funto is the clown of the group. Nobody really takes him seriously.

"I just want to know what it is" Deji responded. You could read the plea in his words. "I've always paid on net, but someone told me today that it's wrong"

"Not true bro", Funto replied again, this time, trying to form serious. "Bible says give what you feel you owe God...no set rule."

(At this point, I literally gasped at my phone! I had no idea what Bible Funto reads)

"Tithe is between you and God, not what man thinks is right", Funto continued.

"Why do we even pay tithe at all?" Femi, the smartest guy in the group, asked. "And what happens if we don't pay?"

"NOTHING," bellowed Ope, who is from the rural parts of Ibadan (this is a joke within a joke, as Ibadan comprises of only rural parts).

"Abolutely nothing! Prove me wrong Bible Scholars,' Ope continued, 'Christians would be accepting everything hook, line and sinker. I had this same conversation at work and people were saying gross...I just hissed!"

Deji continued, in response to Femi's question: "Well, because God said so? I'm not sure. I just believe it's in your best interest to."

(At this point, Deji had to munch the famous tithe Bible passage (Mal 3:10-11) from his phone, as if to erase all doubt as to what God had said)

"So what is the consequence of not paying?' Femi urged.

"I cannot tell. What if I've been missing out on some blessings? I have certainly not met all my goals"

"And you think it's because you don't pay tithe?" the belligerent Ibadan boy asked.

(And to be fair, Deji never said he didn't pay tithe, but I guess Ibadan people never really pay close attention).

"Well, who knows," Deji replied, "perhaps I could've gotten a job in GE and be flying all over the world, or a job in P&G and be balling like Femi. But repercussions or not, it will be nice to know what is right. Just to be sure"

And here, my dear readers is where we start our own conversation.

You see, I'm constantly in search of truth. I understand that where religion is concerned, we're typically fed with truths, half-truths and sometimes blatant lies from a variety of sources. So I question everything. And to be honest, I have been having the debate at the back of my mind about the meaning behind my tithe payments. Why do I pay tithes? This is such a strong economic question especially in this era of falling forex and rising oil pump prices (Nigerians, can I get an Amen?), and so I asked myself, way before Deji brought up the discussion in the chatgroup, why, oh why, do I dish out 10% of my hard-earned income every month?

Did God really say we should pay tithe? This sounds like a funny question, especially after referring to Malachi chapter 3. But as you will soon see, God, in that Malachi chapter, was speaking through a prophet, to a specific people, within a specific period of time, and under some specific circumstances. It doesn't, and cannot, apply to everybody. Truth is, you cannot remove a book from the context in which it was written, and the Bible is no exception. In fact, taking the wordings of Scripture out of context would make Christians no different from other religious fanatics running around killing people. Check out Deut 17: 1 - 5 or Deut 13: 6 - 16 where God commanded his people to kill their own family and even raze down cities that turn away from God. Or check out 1 Cor 14:34 where women are forbidden to speak in church.(Ha!) So no, thank you very much, the Bible should be read and understood within the context it was written.  In fact, it's a dangerous something to take the Bible (or any holy book for that matter) out of context.

So, what's the context behind tithing? Does it apply to everyone, or not? Is it paid on gross or net? To fully understand the idea, we need to take a step back to the beginning. Walk with me, as I paint the big picture as succinctly as I can.

1. First, Father Abraham was the first person mentioned in the Bible to pay tithe. As the story goes, a couple of kings made an alliance and captured the city of Sodom, plundering, looting and taking the inhabitants as captives. Abraham's nephew was one of those captives. Someone escaped and informed Abraham, who then gathered 318 strongmen, chased the alliance, defeated them, and recovered all that was taken, including Lot. On his way back, he met a priest of God, and gave the priest a tenth of the recovered loot, and bam! Tithing was born.

2. Second mention of tithe was done by Jacob, grandson of Abraham. Now, Jacob was just about done with duping his father of Esau's blessings. His mother, knowing how annoyed Esau would get, told Isaac, Jacob's Father, to send Jacob away. In doing this, she was successfully killing two birds with one stone. For one, she didn't want Jacob marrying one of the local girls, as it seemed they didn't have proper home training (lol!). Secondly, she feared what Esau would do when he finds out his blessings had gone with the wind. (As an aside, I always wondered why Isaac had only one blessing to give. Like, c'mon! You have two kids, you want one of them to suffer ni? Or haf Blessing become scarce? LOL! But I digress).

Anyways! Jacob packed his load and started on a journey to his uncle's place several hundreds of miles away. Now, for a moment, just imagine how Jacob would have felt, leaving his father's covering and his mother's love. Fear? Uncertainty? Apprehension? Exactly! So you can imagine his relief when God appeared to him in a dream and promised to bless and protect him. Jacob woke up from that dream startled until realization dawned upon him that God was there, and with him. To seal the deal, Jacob made a vow to God, saying, if You do all these things you promised me in the dream, I'll give you a tenth of all my belongings. It is interesting to see that even after God had promised to bless and protect him, Uncle Jacob still went ahead to forge a contract, complete with legal consideration. (If you ask me, I think this was born out of his wayo behaviour. People typically believe others - even God -  would act the same way they would act, in a similar situation. This is worth thinking about for a bit). But what is more interesting is that God took this deal pretty seriously, and made a reference to it 2 chapters down the line (Gen. 31). And here we have the second mention of tithing, which in my opinion, is mighty instructive. But hold on, let's get to the third and most controversial mention of tithe in the Bible...

3. Tithing in the law of Moses. This is the best known, least understood, and most touted part of tithing. Ask anything Christian why they pay tithe. They will almost instantly point to Malachi 3 vs 10. In fact, do a google search for just 'Malachi', and...

But the real question is, why did God write tithing into law? In short summary, when He supernaturally rescued the Israelites from centuries of slavery and led them through the Promised Land, He called out the tribe of Levites as a group of people who would live their lives exclusively as priests. He then provided a means for their livelihood - He commanded the Israelites to part with a tenth of their income (very loosely speaking) for the upkeep of the Levites. Understand that Israel at that time was a theocratic state. God was Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. He made the rules, enforced the rules, and ensured equity among everybody. In fact, where equity was concerned, He instituted multiple types of tithes, for widows, orphans, and even for some festive occasions, etc. You see, tithe was supposed to be some form of modern day tax to ensure a social security system for the economically disadvantaged, and God sweetened the deal, promising to bless and prosper the Israelites if they faithfully obeyed. (There is an interesting parallel between tax and tithe - subject for another blogpost, perhaps).

Now, with this understanding, fast forward to our popular scripture, Mal 3:10. If you read the entire book of Malachi (Remember context!), you'd understand what God was communicating through his prophet. In summary once again, Israel was messing up! From the priests to the people, everyone was doing and behaving anyhow. Priests were offering stunted and worthless sacrifices, men were marrying foreign and godless women, divorcing their wives, and even forgetting to pay tithes! 

Apparently God wasn't happy, and spoke in very strong words through Malachi to the Israelites.

Do you see the specificity of that passage now? And do you see how erroneous it might be to broadly apply it to every Christian? 

Herein lies the crux of this discussion, and this is why I won't pay tithe: tithing as prescribed by Moses' law was made specifically for the children of Israel to meet a specific need, the original intent being irrelevant and obsolete for today's Christian.

But within this insight, came a much deeper revelation. You see, I believe that one easy way to success is to seek out success behaviours of successful people and emulate them. If you can figure out the cause, and do the cause, you can expect a similar (same?) effect. 

Do you remember what Jacob did?

Jacob got a powerful promise of prosperity from God (similar to our New Testament promise of prosperity), and then took a proactive step by cutting a deal with God, one that God acknowledged Himself and kept! I like that. And I want that. 

So I drew up my own contract with God (as funny as that sounds), and my giving a tenth of all I own is keeping my part of the deal. This makes my tithing a very personal something, and holds me solely accountable to myself and God (parties to the contract), and no one else. It removes the guilt and remorse that my friend Deji was feeling, because now, I simply executes the contract based on the terms I drew up, with proper understanding and ownership! Paying tithe on gross or net becomes an unnecessary discussion. 

So this is why I pay tithe. Not out of willful (ignorant?) obligation, but out of a deeply cultivated covenant. 

Now, does this mean all my past tithing has been in vain? Fortunately, no. Giving, in itself, is a valid and pretty powerful principle of prosperity. But entering into a covenant with God is a much more powerful next step - call it the icing on the cake, or if you like, the insurance policy on your prosperity (or health, or fame, or whatever value your contract stipulates). 

So go ahead - with deep introspection, define the scope of the covenant/contract and keep your part, knowing without an iota of doubt, than the Second Party to the contract has never, ever, breached a contract. And He won't start now.

#nuffsaid

*Real names withheld to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned. Not that they need any form of protection, but this notice looks pretty fanciful on a blog.

**Remember to share your thoughts with me in the comment section. Thank you!

***And follow me on Twitter too: @olatunbode

****Special thanks to Tolu Odugbemi, whose real name isn't withheld. You were Godsent!

Slayer.

So I got featured on a blog!

My friend, Nike, decided to do an interview for working professionals who do a couple of other 'extra-curricular activities'. She coined the word 'Ultrapreneur' for this phenomenon, and I'm humbled to be right at the starting lineup!

Read the post here, and remember to tell me (and Nike) what you think!

Gracias.

There Is Something Wrong With My UNILAG Undergrad Education

I am convinced there is something wrong with my UNILAG undergraduate education.

The very first time I felt this way was in my second year at the Lagos Business School, pursuing my MBA. I was walking down the staircase, and I noticed one of the steps was chipped at a corner. I took little notice of the chip and kept on walking.

The very next day, I was walking on that same staircase and to my utter amazement, I noticed the step with the chipped edge had been replaced!!!

What?? Replaced?? Under 24hours?? In this country?? Impossible!

To understand my bewilderment and perhaps create some perspective, I was coming from an undergraduate background where an entire hall of residence will collapse under disrepair and mismanagement, with not even a wink from the authorities. Hell... I was coming from a country where the roads would be totally impassable, riddled with crater-sized potholes; with goverment officials passing by on a daily basis in air-conditioned SUVs, and with no thought to its maintenance. (Lagos State, for the record seem to be an exception, as potholes are swifly covered up in most instances, but this is an exception, rather than the rule)

So, you see, the chip in the step was not the issue. I expected the chip. What I didn't expect, was the swift corrective action. And herein lay the problem: I had come to expect this mismanagement as the norm. Shocking, and sad, but true.

This is the first issue with my undergrad education.

The second issue is more critical and saddening. I found, by a series of close observation and back-of-the-envelope research, that graduates of some private universities, most especially those of Covenant and Babcock universities were doing far better than graduates of my alma mata in terms of leadership, entrepreneurship, and even governance. I took multiple samples of youths in different sectors: government, education, business, entertainment, PR, agriculture, New Media, etc and a good number (if not most) of the youths leading these sectors (of the sample space) were graduates of these aforementioned private universities!

What are they teaching them there, biko??

No, really, someone should tell me. I'm pretty certain the curriculum is pretty similar, so there has to be something extra-curricular that instills in these graduates the knowledge, the skills, and the grit to be successful leaders and entrepreneurs.

Don't get me wrong...graduates of UNILAG exist that are successful and are leaders in their own chosen fields, no doubt! (Heck! I'm one of them!) But I'm talking numbers here. For every 1 UNILAG graduate leading in one field, say Entertainment, there are, perhaps 2 to 3 to 4 graduates of Covenant or Babcock (this is loosely speaking, but please challenge me here if you have contrary figures). They have to be doing something right. The question is: what?

And sadly, I do not know. I wish I could claim on this piece that I had found the answers; and all UNILAG authorities need do is 1, 2, and 3; and then voila...our graduates would be running for President. LOL! I wish. But I don't have the answers.

But dear UNILAG school authorities, (if you ever get to read this), I know where we can start:

First, we need to acknowledge that the quality of the undergraduate we churn out could be greatly improved. Then we need to vastly and quickly improve the school's infrastructure. Give the students a wholesome sense of belonging! Third, infrastructural maintenance should be top priority for every Department and Faculty. Every chip in the stairs need to be repaired pronto!

Finally, we need to pay these two universities a visit, and perhaps do a small study, to find out why their graduates turn out as they do. Forget the comic nature of this post - this is serious business! Research is the lifeblood of any university, so this final idea should be an executional walk in the park.

Now, this writeup is in no way designed to cast aspersions on The University of First Choice, and The Nation's Pride. Far from it. I've said it before, and i'll say it again: every Nigerian student consciously, subconsciously, or unconsciously, wants/wanted/would love to be a student of  the University of Lagos. This is Fact. Ask your Mummy. Numerous conditions make them choose other universities. LOL! To yourself be true.

Truth is, I'm proud of my Alma Mater. I met great people there and did wonderful things. This is simply a clarion call to make the school much, much better. (Case in point, UNILAG just recently produced the first ever perfect CGPA graduate this year. Beat that Covenant University!)

Now, if you have any insight into my conundrum above, please comment. Share your knowledge/guesses/theories, whatever. Let's talk about it, please. And find a way out.

#nuffsaid

Follow me on twitter: @olatunbode.

2015!

Source: krvn.com

2015 was terrific! Now you might not understand how incredible this statement is until you take a look at how awful my 2014 was. Yes, I said awful. Read my article here on how 2014 turned out (zoom into #7&8). Notice how I said 2015 would be the best year yet. Notice how 2015 did became my best year yet, last year. LOL!

To be honest, on all fronts, 2015 was a great year. I won't begin to mention how great...one blog post isn't enough. But I'll tell you what I did to make the year turn out so great! And it's so simple, it's unbelievable (and annoying, really):

I set lofty goals. Honestly, I cringe each time I say or write this; because I see, in my mind, people rolling their eyes at this comment. This is probably because goal setting is the most overstated and underused principle in human history (a little hyperbole never hurt anyone ;)). But seriously, there is nothing new in goal setting, but I believe people get it wrong in 3 ways:

1. In actually setting them! LOL. Some group of people don't just set goals. They believe what would be would be. I believe in making things be. True. So I always set goals. Always. And the goals are lofty, so even if i don't make them (I didn't make all of them in 2015), I'd have stretched and become a better person in the process.
2. Write them down and put them where you can see them frequently. I wrote my goals down and put them on my bathroom door (see pic below). I crystallized all of them into 5 important 'rocks' (template was borrowed from my office :D), covering my physical, spiritual, professional (career), financial, and emotional life. I see this everyday and it serves as a constant reminder.
3. Do them! This part I missed out in 2014. Execution is a critical skill! And it can be learned. It involves breaking down the goals into little blocks, and including timelines for achieving them. It involves periodic reviews i.e. reality-check: where am I vs where i planned to be. It also involves revising the goals where necessary.

All these and more made 2015 a success; and I'm grateful. In my usual fashion, I end this piece with 6 things i'm grateful for in 2015:

1. Grateful to God, who crowns every effort with success.
2. I'm grateful for my family, and for the deeper relationship I'm forming with everyone of them.
3. I'm grateful for my mentors. You guys keep pushing me upwards. God bless you!
4. My besties, friends and colleagues, thanks for accepting my weirdness :D
5. Folake Okunubi and Buki Agbeniga, for leading the best and most effective (*wink*) training I received this year, thank you!
6. For my blog readers, thank you for your patience. I deprioritized writing in my blog on purpose in 2015, so I'm sure you mustve missed me. But not to worry, writing is on my list of goals for 2016. Stay tuned!

God bless you people! Let's be deliberate and make 2016 our best year yet. Happy New Year!

Cheers.

Source: appadvice.com

Follow me on Twitter: @olatunbode