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!

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