By Ethelbert Okere
Pastor Enoch Adeboye’s recent repudiation of his earlier hard line (posturing) on tithing should serve as an encouragement for ending the perennial controversy over the subject. Currently, Nigerians are being subjected to sordid sights of General Overseers (GOs) abusing each other on social media over whether or not tithing is a compulsory requirement for earning God’s favour.
To be sure, quite a good number of Christians – including those of the orthodox churches like Catholics and Anglicans – pay tithes, not for the fear of missing heaven, as pastor Adeboye had initially admonished, but because they believe in the spiritual efficacy of giving to God by whatever name it is called. This writer belongs to this category. Yet, there are also a good number of those that tithe either for the ‘love’ or ‘fear’ of their pastors.
This is especially so in churches where individual records are kept for tithing, a practice many tithers, themselves, abhor even though they might not voice it out. It is such practices, together with the penchant of some pastors to create the impression that tithing is the most important doctrine in the Christian faith, that has led to the cynicism over it; to the extent that for many Christians, including those in the Pentecostal or so called Charismatic churches – and perhaps unknown to some of their pastors – tithes are for the enrichment of latter. But this is not entirely correct. It is a wrong notion that ought not to have arisen if the right steps had been taken from the beginning.
Rather than shouting at each other over tithing, the GOs should dwell more on the promises of God for those who give, whether to the Lord, himself, or to fellow human beings as espoused in 2 Corinthians 9. In verses 6 – 9, the Bible says, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that ye always having sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth forever” (King James).
The Good News Bible even makes it easier to understand: “You should give, then, as you have decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty, for God loves the one who gives gladly. And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause. As the scripture says, He gives generously to the needy, His kindness lasts forever”.
Now, let us see what Malachi 3:10, from where the teaching on tithing is derived, says: “Bring ye all the tithes to the store house that there may be meat in mine house and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of host; if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, said the Lord of host” (King James). We can see that whereas 2 Corinthians 9:6-9 says that the giver should give what pleases him, Malachi 3:10 is specific on what to give: tithe, that is, 10 per cent of income.
Still, witness the abundance of blessings promised those who give, not out of compulsion, but as they are willing to give as espoused in 2 Corinthians 9. Even so, and contrary to the impression tithe pundits try to create, Malachi 3:10 does not say that those who do not pay tithe will be punished. Unfortunately, the only scripture about giving to God that most Christians, especially among the Pentecostals, is Malachi 3. Majority are not familiar with 2 Corinthians 9. A lady acquaintance, a university graduate and a strong member of a popular Pentecostal church in Owerri, recently told me that she had never heard about 2 Corinthians 9. Even though it will be incorrect to say that Pentecostal churches deliberately keep 2 Corinthians 9 away from their members, Malachi 3:10 should not be the only thing Christians should be taught about giving to God.
But perhaps the biggest controversy in contemporary treatment of the topic of tithing centers on the vehicle in which it should be conveyed. While most Christians, including clergy men, insist that the tithe referred to in Malachi 3:10 is farm produce and not money, die-hard pundits say otherwise. By contrast, there is no ambiguity over 2 Corinthians 9:6-9. Here, the Apostle Paul is talking about “gifts” (in the Good News bible) or “bounties” (In the King James version).
Even this controversy on whether tithing in (Malachi 3:10) should be in cash or farm produce need not arise because just in the next verse, Malachi 3:11, the Bible makes it clear when it says: “… He shall not destroy the fruits of your ground neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field …” (King James). The Good News bible puts it this way “I will not let insects destroy your crops and your grape vines will be loaded with grapes…”
Let us see more translations of Malachi 3:11 in other versions of the Bible: “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops and the vines in your field will not drop their fruits before it is ripe…” (New International Version, NIV); “I will rebuke the devourer for you so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear..” (English Standard Version, ESV); “Then I will rebuke the devourers for you so that it will not destroy the fruits of your ground nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you…” (New American Standard Version, NASB); “I will rebuke the devourer for you so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruits” (Christian Standard Bible, CSB); “Your crops will be abounding for I will guide them from disease. Your full grapes will not fail from the vine before they are ripe” (New Living Translation, NLT)
We can see that in all the versions, what is at stake in Malachi 3:11 is farm produce, not money. The various versions referred to “insects”, “pests”, “fruits”, “vines” “crops” etc. It should be clear that the “devourer” the Bible is referring to here are insects or pests and not a demonic spirit that enters into the pockets of non-tithers to steal their money; as most tithe preachers prefer to say. I think this is another aspect of the controversy that Pastor Adeboye needs to address publicly also. Even the reference to the opening of windows of heaven and the pouring down of blessing in Malachi 3:10 is basically a promise by God to send down the rains to the earth to enable the crops grow more abundantly.
Beyond tithes, however, the time has come when there have to be standards for preaching what is in the Bible. The mistake many pastors make is that they think that non pastors know nothing about the Bible. If Pa Adeboye could make the mistake which he admitted to and apologized for, there is no reason anybody should claim infallibility on matters concerning the knowledge of the Word of God, as the Bible is referred to. Agreed, knowledge of the Word is in varying degrees but I am afraid that some preachers believe that those who listen to them know nothing about the Bible.
As in many other aspects of life in the present day, majority of Christians have become quite sophisticated and discerning that they would hardly indulge in sheepish adherence to teachings that appear to be convenient interpretations of a section of Bible teachers or preachers. Quite a good number have become acquainted with the various interpretations of the Bible and have made up their minds on which to believe, rightly or wrongly. Agreed, it is the duty of the preacher, pastor or evangelist to make sure that the congregations believe the right thing but that “right thing” is no longer the exclusive knowledge of those preaching.
I have said nothing to suggest that Christians should not pay tithe. What I quarrel with is the language in which it is couched; and Pastor Adeboye’s retraction of one of such evidently wrong languages is my authority. My heart was so much gladdened at a church service in Abuja recently when the preacher told the congregation: “if you like don’t call it tithe, call it whatever you like but we need money to keep this place going”. His sincerity and pointedness was quite touching.
There is, however, another matter which I think Pastor Adeboye needs to address: His rationalization of the gifting of a Rolls Royce – said to have been bought for over N1.5billion – plus a cash gift of another one billion naira – by some pastors within and outside his ministry, the Living Faith Church, also known as the Winners Chapel. In his defence of the gift to Bishop Oyedepo, Pa Adeboye was reported to have said that “it is better to die as a rich man than to die as a poor man”. As far as I am concerned, this is graver ‘offence’ than the one on tithing.
Apart from being a direct mockery of the poor, it means that as far as Pa Adeboye is concerned, the rich will still have an edge over the poor even after death. But this is contrary to the teachings of the Bible. Jesus Christ, himself, gives hope to the poor with the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16: 19 – 31. But today, the hope the poor gets from that teaching – that he has not lost everything – is being assaulted by people who are supposed to re-enforce the belief in the promise of eternal life.
If a clergy of Pastor Adeboye’s standing could be so disdainful of the poor, then why do we quarrel with Nigerian secular leaders when they make mockery of the poor with such things like, “Let the poor breath”. Who will save the poor in Nigeria if they keep getting the bashing from both their spiritual and secular leaders?
I can state without any fear of contradiction that by the Rolls Royce saga, church leaders in Nigeria have generally lost the moral righteousness to preach against politicians for their real or perceived insensitivity; or their ostentatious life styles. In any case, the source of the majestic opulence displayed by both corrupt public office holders and wealthy pastors is the same – the public: The money contributed as tithe, offering, seed-sowing or whatever come from parishioners who are members of the public; just as the funds allegedly stolen by politicians belong to members of the same public. It is not yet to the knowledge of Nigerians that even the big churches are into any other forms of enterprises that generate revenue for their owners or managers.
I may not be accurate with my Mathematics but I can estimate that the total sum of 2.5billion naira (the cost of the Rolls Royce plus the cash gift) would have given every single member of Bishop Oyedepo’s church throughout the country a bag of rice each. Couldn’t that have been a better way of celebrating his milestone age of 70? Elsewhere, there could have been a Run on Winners Chapel.
To be sure, there is nothing wrong in seeking for material comfort but something is definitely wrong in a situation whereby religious leaders are seen to be competing with secular men and women over which group is living bigger. One popular Port Harcourt-based pastor is fond of priding himself as one of the richest pastors in the world. Such showing off is completely uncalled for. Another UK-based preacher of Nigerian extraction recently told his audience that it pains him that pastors are not yet among the first four wealthiest men in the world. Again, what for?
The overall effect of the current image of Christian religious leaders in Nigeria, especially among the Pentecostals, is a rapidly dwindling interest among the ordinary folks in church matters. Forget the crowds at the miracle crusades. Those there are merely after what could dramatically change their material well-being or status, not the love for God or the quest for salvation. There was a time you would be almost certain of wasting your time by going to a market place to look for anything on a Sunday. Not anymore. Today, Sundays are no longer holy days. In almost all urban areas, markets are filled to the brim on Sundays just as in ordinary days.
Already, we are beginning to hear things like, “Nigerians pray too much” or are devoting too much time going to the church or mosque instead of engaging in empirically verifiable activities that would pull our country out of the doldrums. Even some highly placed clergy men in the so-called orthodox churches are fond of making reference to China whose people are said not to believe in God but which is regarded as a model country.
I had in an article published in February 2024 drawn attention to this dangerous narrative. The thrust of the article, which was entitled, “The Fallacy Of Over Praying And Development”, was that there is nothing like “praying too much” and that devoting time to the worship of God Almighty does not preclude working hard to improve our material wellbeing; and that we should not out of frustration forget the infinite power of God and his unconditional love for mankind. I then drew attention to the fact that the motto of the United States of America, which for me is a better country than China, is “In God We Trust”. Still, the increasing convergence of the idiosyncrasies of elite church leaders and those of their secular counterparts poses a great danger.
When we were growing up, we were told that being “Born Again” means keeping away from “worldly” things; leading to a situation where some churches prohibited ladies from putting on ear rings. One particular church organization even prohibited its members from watching television! But today, pastors are falling over each other on who owns the best and costliest automobile. Clearly, we have moved from one extreme end to the other.
