And just like that, my blog has lost direction. I started out
writing about film, then careers. Then I ventured into politics which I had
specifically said I won’t. Now, guess what, I’m about to talk about tithing.
Tithing, like women doing dishes and Nigerian men cheating
on their wives is a common topic on twitter.
Yesterday it reared its head again. Someone said instead of giving your
ten percent in church, you should give it to children hawking on the streets.
Nigerians are very interesting. We like to tell people what to do, with their
time, money and even hearts.
I personally do not give to children on the streets, if
anything I’d like to follow them to their homes and sue their parents to court.
I consider child labour inexcusable particularly when there are so many risked
involved. So why you’d ask me to encourage it, I don’t know.
If a non believer says you should not tithe, I can
understand it, I’d still wonder what’s their business and probably roll my eyes
but when a Christian who goes to church, sits on a bench paid for by the
tither, enjoys the electricity paid for the tither, then you decide no one
should give money to the church, next time go with your own chair and probably
sit outside.
It’d be nice if the church can run on water but it can’t. Members of the church give to the church so
it can run. If your church isn’t well run and your pastor uses the congregation’s
money to tour the world in his jet, that’s your fault, and your pastor’s, no
need to rope in the whole Kingdom of God.
Members should hold their pastors
responsible for their actions or inactions.
They are very many churches catering to the needs of the
needy and destitute in the society. I
doubt there’s any church that doesn’t have a charity department where the poor,
widows, the sick are taken care of. Many churches are involved in
rehabilitation of drug addicts and area boys.
Some churches provide shelters for the abused. These things cost money. There’s a limit to
what we can individually do but as a group the church is able to achieve a lot
more.
How about the things money cannot buy? Do you know how many naming ceremonies, weddings
and funerals that Pastors preside over? How’ll they be able to do this if they
weren’t on a salary paid for by tithers and offering givers? A friend of mine
had an accident in the States. She has few friends and no family there. It’s
the church that provided the care and support till she healed.
Yes, the church should do more. Christians should do more but to insinuate
that all the church uses tithes and offerings for is private jets is to be
ridiculous.
