Others have reasons why they prefer having a ‘weather-beaten’ wo/man of God pray for them to break through, and I respect that.
I tithe because my church does not pay any salary to my pastor, yet he too feeds a family; he too educates children; he too has personal, non-church dreams.
After all, a tithe is just 10 per cent of one’s income. And not all churchgoers earn big. Some people’s tithes are Shs 1,000.
And it is a personal conviction, not forced on anyone; so, don’t be too harsh on people who choose to exercise their faith to the biblical letter!
When I first tithed 15 years ago, the 10 per cent I gave to my church was so little, yet I still felt its pinch. But I continued tithing.
Today, what was my full salary from 15 years ago, is not even my tithe. I am proud that I still pray/tithe in the same church where I have experienced that spiritual and financial growth. And as we grow, our spiritual leaders naturally grow too and I am okay with that.
Plus, I never lose sight of the fact that our legal tender circulates in a massive pool; a pool drawn from and deposited into by witchdoctors, sorcerers, thieves, false prophets, Satanists, practitioners of human sacrifice, rapists, and God’s children, alike.
So, I tithe. It is my way of dedicating my finances to God and spiritually dissociating myself and my finances from whichever place the money may have been.
God does not lie when He promises to bless a tither and rebuke the devourer, in Malachi 3. Tithing is a very personal decision and I know many Pentecostals do not tithe, because they are not convinced about it. But many more still, tithe. Don’t lose sleep over them.
My cousin got saved in the early 1980s, but only started tithing in 2004 after we had a long discussion and she finally understood it.
I see many insulting statements about pastors from people who know little about the faith, especially on the issue of the wo/men of God leading a comfortable life.
Well, all of them started out dirt-poor. And they testify the times people said they were waiting to see if “your God truly works” before they too could profess salvation.
I’m sure you too have ridiculed a hungry-looking street preacher before, saying, “Let God help you first!”
But when God does, you will turn around and call that poor street-preacher-turned-renowned-pastor, a thief. Lord have mercy.
malita@observer.ug
