THE WIDOW'S MITE

The furore over the scriptural relevance, or otherwise, of tithing has, to a large extent, caught the people’s imagination, and has brought about a consciousness hitherto unseen in the religion of Christianity. The spectrum of opinions on this unnecessarily contentious issue is quite wide, and the debate/controversy is still raging, with no end in sight. A pertinent question should not go unbegged: why did it stoke so much fire among the ranks of the ‘men of God’? This is a question that is gravid with so many others, which, if care is not taken, would mask the central debate about the validity or correctness of the tenet of tithing. Slanging matches, vitriolic verbals and social media warfare, are indicative of the divisiveness inherent in religiosity in today’s Nigeria.

The aim of this discussion is not to be a stoker of further ire, but to explore the reasons behind the volcanic eruption of emotion on both sides of the argument. To get a perspective of where I’m coming from, I’ve been on the vexing, and taxing, issue of the dynamics of religion, especially Christianity, in Nigeria for a number of years. I make no secret of the fact that I consider most so-called men of God particularly distasteful and downright dishonest; I also know that a great deal many Nigerians are in concordance with me on this. I would not pretend, for even one second, to be sufficiently schooled, scripturally, on the tenet of tithing, or indeed a host of other religiously contentious issues, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

It is supposed to be the responsibility of the ‘men of God’ to educate, mentor and direct their flocks in the ways of the Lord, and part of that responsibility is to lead by example. Their inability or failure to lead by example is the core of the flocks’ disbelief of what they say and the erosion of their hitherto indisputable spiritual authority. Financial immorality, lack of social responsibility and emotional disconnect are the character flaws that people now associate with those who are expected to lay claim to the moral high ground. I watched the other day, in shock horror, a video clip of a sermon by Pastor Adeboye in which he pronounced that ‘men of God’ take people’s money because that is the only way people can be taken out of poverty. I thought either my hearing was failing me or my eyesight was playing tricks on me. The presumption that people only sought God because they were poor is an assault on common sense, and frankly, it’s nothing short of spiritual terrorism. How many times have we seen or heard ‘men of God’ soliciting billion, million Naira donations from the pulpit? This is the kind of disconnect from the reality of the vast majority of their flocks that make the ‘men of God’ so impervious to common sense and blinded to both the spiritual and temporal needs of their flocks. Where is the principle of the ‘widow’s mite’ in the Church these days? Mark 12:41-44 says:

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

We note here that Jesus didn’t admonish the poor widow for putting in some derisory amount in the bowl, but rather acknowledged her from-the-heart contribution to the ministry. Most church-going Christians in today’s Nigeria are just like this widow, and instead of focussing on them, they are often ignored by our ‘men of God’ and their needs are immaterial to them. The rich get all the recognition and the poor gets overlooked. What then is the difference between their spiritual and temporal existence?

Churches are built almost on a daily basis, but lives are being pulled down every minute of the day. Schools and universities are established but way beyond the reach of the very flocks they proclaim to cater for. Why then should all hell break loose when such deviances are noted and frowned upon by discerning people? Rather than do a reality check, the ‘men of God’ engage in argumentum ad hominem. They attack the character or motive of the accuser and leave the central argument unattended. How many times have they lashed out at the political class for the political and social ills bedevilling Nigeria? How many of them, for instance, have put their expensive private jets to good use by helping to repatriate Nigerians in distress in Libya, who are being sold for $400 or less into slavery? What exactly are they about? When the tenet of tithing is questioned, they come out in arms! Spiritual intimidation and employment of fear are two of the tools in their armoury.

Most ‘men of God’ in Nigeria today scrimshank, at best, and are patently fraudulent and self-serving, at worst. Folks go to church for spiritual maintenance or revival, but oftentimes, they come out of church with the heebie-jeebies. Why should the debate about tithing be a casus belli if they had nothing to keep their grubby claws on? Prosperity teaching is now king; Kingdom preaching is a tedious anecdote. I am unabashedly ambivalent on the tenet of tithing. My overriding view is to do as the spirit in me directs in order to advance the ministry. I would not set up a direct debit to pay tithe, nor would I succumb to half-baked intimidation or an implied sense of guilt from any quarter. The Lord sees the heart of each and everyone and it is only He we are accountable to on the day of judgement. People need to smell the coffee and free themselves of man-made doctrines and spiritual 419.

May Christmas bring you all truly glad tidings, and may 2018 be a year to remember for good. Shalom.