There is a movement today which believes the tithe which they are to pay to God should be given to the widows, fatherless, orphans or the needy in general. This movement wants to give the tithe to the needy directly from their pocket without giving it to the Church. They even have a Bible passage to back it up. Let’s examine it.
Deuteronomy 14:22-29 (KJV)
22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
As seen above, nowhere in the passage are people ordered to give the tithe directly to the needy. God only says the needy should not be forsaken. How does one forsake the needy in this case? You forsake the needy when you fail to tithe, not when you don’t give it to them directly.
The tithe is used for different purposes in the house of God. A portion caters for the priests, a portion sees to the care of the house of God, another portion caters for the needy etc. All of these are supervised by God’s priest. So when you tithe, the needy comes to the house of God and they are cared for from it.
The reason why the above passage says the tithe has to be taken to the place where God puts his name, i.e the House of God, is because it is from there the distribution to the purposes it serves is done.
Now, there are two kinds of people in the movement that want to give their tithe directly to the needy by themselves. It sound a like a great idea to give to the needy. But they are both wrong. One class is sincere but sincerely wrong, while the other is just being a thief.
An example of such movement is seen in the gospel passages talking about the woman with an alabaster of expensive ointment who poured it on Jesus to show appreciation for what he did for her.
When the disciples saw what she did, they felt awkward about it. They wondered why the expensive ointment wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor. They were since but sincerely wrong.
Matthew 26:8-11 (KJV)
8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
Now, what about the class that is wrong and also being a thief about it? That class has people with the mindset of Judas Iscariot. See what he said below and how the Bible described him and those who reason alike.
John 12:4-6 (KJV)
4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
Let me tell you something about many of those who love to say their tithe ought to be given to the poor directly by themselves without taking it to the Church. They are thieves. How do I know this? Just read on.
The Bible clearly states that the tithe belongs to God and he even said it has to be brought into his house as seen below.
Leviticus 27:30
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.
Malachi 3:10 (KJV)
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
Now, these people who go give it directly to the poor are simply robbing God. They are not to decide how God should spend what belongs to him. They are to pay it to the church and allow God and his priest decide how to spend it. But no, they think it is right the tithe is given to the poor and needy themselves.
Ask them what they did with their own 90 percent. They spent it all on themselves without caring for the poor out of it. But it is God’s own money they now want to give to the poor. That’s robbery. They are Judas Iscariot, because if they truly cared for the poor, they would have something from their own 90 percent to give to the poor and allow God enjoy his own 10 percent. They are like Judas who had the money bag but never gave to the poor from it but is eyeing the expensive oil spent on Jesus who is God.
Mathew 26:10-11
10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
The moment you decide to neglect the word of God by giving the tithe to the needy yourself, you will get consumed by pride. There’s this feeling you will get when you give it to the needy yourself. You will feel fulfilled, however, that’s you feeling puffed up and consumed by pride because you did the desire of your heart, not what God ordered.
Guess what? You have taken God’s glory because the people you gave it to will praise you and henceforth hold you in high-esteem. All of these belongs to God, but you have cornered it to yourself.
You used God’s money to buy those things for yourself - that’s another offence. You also prevent the needy from going to God’s house to seek help where they will be exposed to his word. Now, it’s your own house they will go to.
Guess what will happen to God’s house? It will become empty because there will be no priest nor workers to run it because they are not getting paid and can’t feed. They will go look for job elsewhere. The Church will become empty because the needy won’t be there to fill it up and there won’t be a priest to minister to them. Such a church will die. That is what Satan wants. He wants the church to be starved of funds so it will die and souls will continue to go to hell. You have foolishly aided the devil’s dream because you chose to follow your heart and emotions instead of the word of God. Your way seemed right to you over the word of God.
What you have to do is pay the tithe to the house of God and never worry how it’s spent. It’s not your money, so why bother yourself about it? Also, make sure it is God’s house you are paying the money to, not some crooked man running a business center and claiming it is a church. Pay the money into the bank God uses and it will get to him, not in the bank he doesn’t use.
Next time, follow what the Bible says, not your heart which is prone to emotions. The thought of our hearts sometimes seems right but are wrong. Many of the tithe we pay are not always used to maintain the church. They are sent to jungles where missionary men are facing dangers to spread the gospel. Don’t hinder God’s work by disobeying his word and following your heart.
Thank you.
