Tithe 101: What God and The Devil Knows, That You Should Too.



Aloha, Amigos!

Today I shall share my honest view on a very controversial topic that has been thousands of years ago. It is no other matter than tithe. I have seen people argue without end about its validity and effectiveness. That is, there are some who do not want to hear about it at all while there are others who consider it okay, but just outdated. Between these two groups are many modified schools of thoughts.

I owe my faithful friends here this post. I understand some people need somebody who is ready to really give an objective and practical opinion on this. Many times has it crossed my mind to share this but there has always been one delay or another. However, I decided this time that until I share my views on this, I shall not post a single letter on this blog!

So here we are today as I shall really be going in-depth and touching (while torching) every dark nook and cranny. Before we get to the really meaty part, let us first enjoy the basic delicious tenderloins Are you ready? Let’s do this!


WHAT IS TITHE ALL ABOUT AGAIN?

Tithe simply is a one-tenth fraction of something, usually incomes and profits, given out for a cause, be it religious or otherwise. By otherwise, I do not mean anti-religious. I simply mean ‘other than religious.’ This is why some Government, like the Italian Government, might have a tithing system, after a fashion.

WHAT RELIGIONS HAVE TO SAY

As early as the Ancient religions, we have many citations of Tithes being paid back in the millenniums.

Babylonian:

Before we get to the obvious citations in the Jewish Scrolls, instances of Mesopotamian tithe, called The Masretu, were recorded in The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of The University of Chicago, Vol 4 “E”.

An excerpt is:

“… The tithe of the chief accountant, he has delivered it to [the sun-god] Shamash.”

“four minas of silver, the tithe of [the gods] Bel, Nabu, and Nergal]”

And more… But then, unless Uncle Nathan (or someone else, for that matter) bequeathed one of such books to you, you have to fill forms to get access to that. *Shrugs*

Judaism:

On the other hand, The Jewish instances are not really that hidden, are they? Grab the nearest Bible and flick through the pages and you have many of those. Let me start from that Great man Abraham.

“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out Bread and Wine [Jesus did something similar, didn’t he?]. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram… then, Abram [As that was his name before he was blessed] gave him a tenth of Everything.”

-Genesis 14:18-20.

His Grandson, Jacob, after receiving a brand new blessing also promised God a tenth of all he has.

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it”… Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God be with me… Of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

-Genesis 28:12-22.

And then, the gem which, as you might have guessed, is from the third chapter of the book of Malachi where God said said,

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you… Then all nations would call you blessed…”

-Malachi 3: 8-12

Apocrypha:

Do you know Tobit? You would if you have read the Book of Tobit. Tobit was an Israelite that lived around the time of the Babylonian captivity. He recorded,

“I would often go by myself to Jerusalem… I would give the first tenth of my grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs …as Deborah my grandmother had taught me.”

-Tobit 1:6-8

Christianity:

The Christians, as you know, also use the Jewish Bible. The Catholics also read the Apocrypha. In addition to those, we have the New Testament.

Matthew recorded Jesus’ words when he was addressing the Pharisees,

“Away with you, you pettifogging Pharisee lawyers! [LOL! I love Jesus!] You give to God a tenth of herbs, like mint, dill, and cumin, but the important duties of the Law – judgement, mercy, honesty – you have neglected. Yet these you ought to have performed, without neglecting the others [Tithe, that is].”

- Matthew 23:23

A parallel of this could also be found in Luke 11:42. And, No, the Pharisees were not called “pettifogging” there. Woe was only declared unto them – From Frying Pan to Fire.

Then, the Hebrews 7:1-10 refers to the Genesis 14, where Abraham paid Melchizedek his tithe, hinting at how good it is and, though it was not a direct order, the continuance of it was obvious.

Islam:

Islam has its equivalent too, known as the Zakat. This is how Zakat works. Even some Muslims might be surprised that they do might learn some things they had been missing in the past.

Zakat is one of the five basic pillars of Islam, focused at giving to Charity. According to the book, Meezan, by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, Zakat is payable on three kinds of assets – Wealth, Production, and Animals.

It basically involves one-fourtieth, also 2.5%, of one’s personal accumulated wealth. Production, on the other hand, is subject to a 10% or 5% Zakat.

In fact, Islam holds this so high and pairs it with another important pillar of the faith, which is the 5-times-a-day prayer. To buttress the point, The 2nd Edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam states that “the prayers of those who do not pay Zakat will not be accepted.”
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I would not want to burden us with details, as you could find the other instances just by using your favourite Google. So, let us move on, shall we?

WHERE THE PROBLEM STARTED

Most people would not bother to argue about the validity of tithes in the olden days. What many have something with (or against) is whether this still applies today as it did back then.

There are those who also believe it is a figment induced by human greed, as surely God could not really come to spend our Nairas, Dollars and whatever currency our country favours.

Let me start from the rear.

True, Tithes are used by humans. In fact tithes are usually used in this way: Charity for the poor and remuneration of the Clerics. And while most good people would see sense when money is given out appropriately to the poor in need of it, a lot disagree with that of the Men of God.

As a point, Clerics have been reported as misappropriating lots of church funds. If these people are doing this, why should they be paid? And then, why should we pay them when they could go to work too? Seriously, these people should really go out and work since it was God that gave them a duty to perform, and not us, right?

As I am a Christian, I would try to be objective. Yet, my opinion would be backed by the Bible. Do not panic; it is all educative and fun yet.

As per whether the Clerics deserve a pay or not, Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy was clear about it.

“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and “The labourer deserves his wages.”

-      1 Timothy 5:17-18.

And about the money is used appropriately or not, I would personally not worry. You know why? This deal is between you and God, not between you and men. In the first place, we should not do it for men’s reward. So why worry to death about how they decide to use it?

Anyway, we should try and prayerfully find a church where tithes are used rightly. This would mean we have done our best to do that which God commanded. That is one.

I would also want to say that the tithe is actually meant for us. That is, when we pay tithes we are actually paying ourselves. The blessings we get from tithing is so great that those not paying could not start to fathom how much they are losing, no matter how rich they are already.

Tithe helps us in many ways:

  1. It helps us receive more blessings from God… Malachi 3:8-12 really shed more light upon this type of blessing.

  1. It prevents unforeseen losses… Malachi 3:8-12 also sheds more light.

  1. It helps reduce our carnal mind to be selfish… Well, common sense tells us that when we happily cultivate the habit of giving happily and unselfishly to God, it spreads to the other areas of our lives steadily.

  1. It helps open the flow… Giving naturally opens the flow that ensures us receiving good things. Let me explain: This Life is a Cycle. Well, check – Life Cycle, Hydrogen Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle, Water Cycle etc.

Cycles has one simple rule to maintain balance: for there to be steady input, there must be steady output too. In essence, to receive you have to give. There is no shortcut.

  1. You Not Only Become Wealthier; You Become Healthier as well…

This might sound ridiculous, but if you are sick or just want sound health, if you want improvement in any way of life, start giving. Now what is the first place to start but from tithing? God- Ordained Tithing.

Think of it this way. You are the one gaining. If there is something that has so much gains that it would only be sensible to have our bite of it, would you not want to grab such an opportunity?

If someone does, finds it indeed super-beneficial and decide to share this with his friends and everyone, would you say such a person is bad?

Please Do Not Forget to share this posts with your Friends. Sharing is Caring!