Deuteronomy 14:28-29

New International Version (NIV)

28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Deut 26:12 (NIV)
When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

Sometime ago in the church, the pastor called out for tithe/seed sowing/special blessing(I am not sure) for people to come to the alter and give some amount with special prayers to follow. There was this elderly woman(a close friend) beside me who did not have money. She quickly borrowed N1500 from me and rushed to the alter to be part of the people being prayed for. Recently, we were coming back from a long trip. We stopped at the traffic, then some people with deformities(polio, I guess), with serious predicaments, like 1 leg, 1 arm, no eyes, families having to live with low self esteem by sitting on the road side. Then this man with 1 leg kept asking her for money. He stood for about a minute, till she said she did not have anything, which I could confirm was a lie.
A lot of us are very insincere. We do this at times; even those self proffessed holier than thou who go about preaching tithing, meanwhile we are usually insincere.

From the verses up there, it says give to
1. levite (priests)
2.fatherless
3.widows
who live in your towns

To you tithe payers:
what is the ratio of the money you have given to your pastors, as to the widows and fatherless around you?
Have you even cared for a widow and/or fatherless?
Have you even cared to care for a widow or fatherless?
Do you even know any fatherless person around?(not your relatives)
It says eat till you are satisfied
.
Do you care to know if the wdows and orphans in your town are satisfied.
Do you think your pastor is not well satisfied than the widows and orphans around?

Come to think of it. Who made your pastor a pastor? If I am good at crowd motivation, get some money and set up a church, and demand the 10% of your earnings, Is there not something wrong about it? How do you know if I am fake.

My brothers and sisters, tithing is compulsory. But I will not call it tithe, I will call it a mandatory responsibility to give to those in need. I know giving the needy 10% of your earnings is quite large. But it shows the extent of insincerity as to which this tithing is practiced. Its only in nigeria were people give a 1 legged man N10 and spend N100 on sunday offerings(excluding tithes) alone. Because people tithe for money reward. I see comments like "the tithing is working for me" what is that? I did not choose to be born with 2 hands and 2 legs. If I was to be born in the north where polio is an epidemic, i have no power to change it. Let us continue to think of the next person around us, who are in need Keep tithing, but for the right purpose, to the right people.

Why no replies from you tithe payers? I just hope I made some sense