Tithing should be from the heart

(Letter published in Sunday Vision)

Thanks for the undercover double-series investigating whether born again pastors are fleecing God’s children. Malachi 3: 10 commands us to tithe or else heaven curses us as church robbers but where we tithe is the question. Muslims pay ‘zakat’ to beggars or in the mosque. Hindus and Bahai’is do something similar. Dr. Creflo Dollar mentioned tithing as a fundamental principle for getting rich when he came to Namboole. Every offering I made without being coerced while at a Catholic school in the late 90s came back to me tenfold within one week. My classmates who begged me to take their tithes to the school chapel returned after a few days to report incredible blessings.
Unfortunately during this decade, tithing in mushrooming born again churches produces mixed results. People begin to get weird dreams of creatures robbing or biting them. Is it because they lack enough faith to ‘sow big seeds’ or the pastors are just quack prophets? Does something block rewards along the way? The Bible warns that in the last days, there will be many, not few but many, false teachers. American Pastor John Hagee on LTV always preaches that “manipulating people to get what you want is witchcraft.”
One day I called a pastor’s hotline and the secretary who talked to me said that if I wanted to see the man of God alone in his office, I should come with 50,000 Shillings. Did Jesus ask for denariis or shekels to help burdened souls? Why are tithes from 10,000 and above blessed first during lunch-hour fellowships? Is God’s storehouse a witchcraft shrine or a place where people can honour God with all they have left, even if it’s just peanuts? Tithing should be from the heart not the pocket.




Edward Aikobua
Kampala