₦airaland Forum

I also agree that the OP should have let them know she was visiting, it may be that she felt comfortable doing that due to the past welcoming disposition of the in-law, (and yes, times have changed sadly). The OP shouldn't have taken that for granted though. The in-law's reaction seems over the top still (hiding food, the child etc), her coldness withoug the hiding already passed the message me thinks. Next time, call ahead, bring gifts and even if the wife is cold show love to your bro and family for his sake.

We can only speculate as to why the sister in law was so hostile. It may be that she is quite superstitious. If she is one of those that pray e.g.'I destroy mama' etc, she would begin to act out her fears in real life. Keeping the child away may be her way of protecting him from harm in her own understanding. Sad.

Growing up, I saw my mum welcome extended family on both sides i.e. my dads relatives and mums. In those days, it was an engrained part of the upbringing to be more open and welcoming, now suspicion is the other of the day and it makes people behave in a way that is so cold. In the past, some other relative (maybe older) may live nearby and notice sister in laws behaviour and caution her and reconcile the OP and the in law.

@Image123,

I don't intend to derail the thread or anything but I'd like to post my observations. I like the way you explained tithing as it was done using the scripture and it's made me ponder some more on the issue which is a good thing cos one can't know it all. Where I digress from those who insist on the practice of tithing for 21st believers is the following:

1. Moses' Tithing Law had the following audience in Israel

a. Those Israelites Commanded to Tithe (TICT)
b. Israelites Not so Commanded (INC)

I wonder of the two groups above; TICT & INC why the New Testament church in the 21st century would prefer to mould themselves after the former? I would really like to know the biblical basis for the preference as there were some other successful groups (and some poorer ones) who were not commanded to tithe.

I tried to address this in my short story below, I would be grateful if you can comment on it.

2. Registers
Here's the definition of the particular 'Registers' I'm referring to:
- 'In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_(sociolinguistics)

Language use of terms must be put in their proper context/meaning or else, any premise on which it based may prove wrong and if carried out knowingly may amount to intellectual dishonesty.

When Jesus talked about tithe in Matt 23:23, He was speaking to a particular audience - TICT. i.e. Those Israelites commanded to Tithe. When some say He mentioned tithing and approved of it, is that the full story? Would an INC (Israelite not so Commanded) listening have said 'oh dear, the Master says not to neglect these things so I must tithe' even though the INC is a carpenter or a fisherman?

Here's my story:

https://www.nairaland.com/914487/set-up-fail-designed-rob

p.s. You’ve also said one can’t be legalistic which is where I agree with you i.e. if tithing is a set of principles then the application may vary as things have changed since old testament times which you’ve acknowledged and I agree with you.
I also don’t know where you stand so my comment above may not apply to you 100% so I apologise if I have generalised.

Thanks.

@Rastamouse

Hello, if you believe the tithe should be shared with widows etc, why can't you give them some from your tithe directly? Seems to me some kind of bondage if it's so rigid it must go through a pastor.

I think we are all required to be good stewards as in that parable of the talents. It's our duty to make sure our monies are used for the right purpose.

Looking forward to an era in Nigeria when tolerance for other people's views on religion are the norm. (This tolerance must not take second place to the inherent bias religious views have. It must not take second place to the fervency and passion religion has and its need to encroach into the other people's personal space).

A time when questions regarding the status quo are not hushed with threats and fears. It will help us put our religious views as secondary and our common humanity as central to our peaceful coexistence. We are a very emotive people and it clouds our judgement. We seem to carry an inate desire to please our maker and show our spiritual leaders and neighbours that we are all in sync with the status quo.

Our differences and challenges to the system will lead to a clearer view of our place on earth and the role religion plays. You and I are not superior to another because he holds a different view. We diminish the omnipotence and omni'power' of God if we believe we must enable Him dominate others because He is unable to act by Himself. You show your trust by letting Him be who He says He is.

"Amend God's Law to allow us Tithe"

Ephraim spoke to the others “We must do likewise; the Law on tithes must be amended to allow those of us deliberately left out to be able to pay tithes. Or else the Christian's foundation for paying is weak and the Pastor strikes fear in their hearts out of his own words”.

Naomi continued “The saints who are subject to the pastor rush forward, they shove the poor, the widows the orphans to the side in their haste to get to the pulpit to pay a tenth of their income to their pastor. Their churches build beautiful edifices to Yahweh, so beautiful I cannot describe the splendour. But I see Jesus weeping at the side, for the weak shoved to the side, for the crying children, for the weak whom the mighty have trodden. I see the mighty who steal the children’s bread from the Nation's coffers; I see them up front almost to the pulpit, happily paying their tithe to the dancing pastor while Jesus cradles the broken, those whom he likened to Himself in a book called Matt 25:31-46; those for whom He blurted out these words “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

Ephraim's Decision

Ehraim and the others sat down silent and even more confused. A tithe of mint, dill and cumin would mean farm produce, maybe they shouldn’t be too worried after all, maybe Moses was right. Even if they had taken their coins of money to the storehouse, there would be no way to receive it as tithe. They felt a burden lift off their hearts, they were free not to keep a Law not directed at them, but still, justice, mercy and faithfulness must prevail in the land.

The Meeting

Dan was present (after much persuasion), the stranger, Miri was present. Other blacksmiths, artisans, widows, orphans and strangers were present. Ephraim began in measured tones. “We all get an increase. When we earn our income from our work, we are increased. When some here glean the edges of the fields, they are increased. When some here (widows and orphans and poor) receive from the tithe of others, they are increased, why are we not mandated to tithe by God? Did Moses intend for us to be cursed? I fear he may have been old and senile. I mean the other day; my friend Jonathan said his sheep only increased by one and therefore didn't need to tithe. Shouldn’t he have cut it up into ten pieces and tithed a tenth? Naomi, please come and tell them more about your dream”.

Naomi's Vision of 21st Century Christians

Naomi began. She spoke in superfluous terms. She described with vivid imagery times right up to the future where a nation dressed differently to the nation of Israel rose up in unison and worshipped Yahweh! The praised like David and desired very much to please Him who sits on the Throne. They loved the Ancient of Days and their hearts melted at the sight of the Lamb; the one who was slain from the foundations of the earth. Naomi was overcome with awe. Who were they? How come they were grafted into the vine? Naomi paused; unspoken words that could not be uttered but she was urged on due to the severity of the moment.

“I see a man in front of a pulpit and he reads from the word of the Lord and the Prophets, he reads to a multitude of saints in distant lands. He is called a pastor and his members sit in wonder as they read and meditate on the word of the Lord. They seek to please God in every way. He speaks of a man named Jesus who takes away sin and of them being grafted into the vine. He reads of the command that the saints must pay tithes or else they rob God and therefore are under a curse. Or else the heavens will not open to release a blessing. And the people tremble in fear like we do here. I see their hearts palpitating and a multitude rush forward to give unto the pastor a tenth of their income.”

Exempt from Tithing

You see, Ephraim was a carpenter. He was kept extremely busy as the temple was in the process of being built making him a man of means in shekels. He loved to jiggle his bag of coins. Was it possible that Moses had not given out the entirety of God’s word? What if, being old and near infirm he had neglected to inform the people that tithes must be given on increase of items other than farm produce and farm animals? Ephraim’s older sister was married to the fisherman Dan and he had celebrated wildly the day he heard the tithing laws did not apply to him and other fishermen. “Stingy man”, Ephraim thought out loud, he suspected Dan slapped his sister around but she always spoke up and denied it ever happened.

He loved the imagery of the heavens and blessings pouring out. Ehmmm, Malachi had said rain but what if rain was symbolic? What if? What if it was not symbolic? Was it literal rain to water the earth? It would appear the message from the Prophet meant literal rain because rain was needed for the produce to multiply in farms. “Ai!” Ephraim was getting a headache, this was the stuff for philosophers, he was a mere carpenter. But he dreaded the idea of being under a curse! He knew what he must do.

Ephraim gathered a few of those who agreed that they must be part of those who were commanded to tithe. After all, father Abraham tithed. That fool Levite who was meant to have been spending his time studying the scriptures must have been spending time lazing around, “fool” Ephraim muttered under his breath. He had said that father Abraham tithed once according to the written word. And from war spoils. “So?!!” Ehrpaim so wanted badly to tithe, the Levite's confirmation that Moses had exempted carpenters annoyed him even further, he wanted to be safe from the curse sure to bring him to crippling oblivion should he not pay a tithe. His carpentry business was booming and he didn’t want the devourer to get him; what if he didn’t pay and he got injured at work or something baaad only the evil devourer could conjure up happened to him? He couldn’t take the chance.

Please pardon the long post and any errors, thanks.

Title: 'Ephraim's Tithe'

Ephraim's Dilemma

Ephraim was upset. He had just received confirmation that when Moses had read out the Tithing regulations for the nation of Israel, his kind had been left out. Ordinarily he would have been excited to have been left out of the burden of giving out yet another set amount of his increase by command of the Lord but his spirits were vexed because of his wife’s nightmare.

How was it that her dreaming visions sometimes set out to upset him? If he was being truthful he would acknowledge that it was due to the uncanny abilities of her dreams to come true. Like the time she dreamt his cousin Makeda was pregnant and due to give birth to a boy with soft brown curls. It had come to be. And the time she dreamt and saw his long lost brother Nathan, thought to have died in a battle with the Amalekites return in a company of two other people and by God! He had shown up with a strange woman and a little boy in tow. He had been captured by the Amalekites. They had been so benevolent to the 17 year old boy with kindly eyes. They had kept him first as their slave and when he had saved the family’s son from near death from a wild animal a few years later, he was given a son’s status and allowed to be married from amongst them. And here he was, returned with Miri his wife and Natom his four year old son. Ephraim sighed.

Naomi’s dream was an echo from afar; she had seen a vision of fallen walls and aged derelict walls. Her dream was of a band of the children of the Nation of Israel return to their lands from being torn away and kept away; back to rebuild the glory of Israel. She spoke of a store house, tithes and curses, of a prophet named Malachi; and that those who had not kept the word of the Lord had robbed God.

[quote author=ndu_chucks]It appears that common sense is being introduced into the discussion. You have indicated that you are required to make charitable contributions, and in fact that the contribution should be more than 10% of your income in your earlier wtite-ups. On the other hand, you are telling people who want to contribute 10% of theirs that they should not do so, because the said contribution is called tithe? Does this make common sense to you? This is at best a semantic disagreement and at worst senseless.

If people want to contribute 10% of their income as charitable donations to their places of worship on a monthly basis, then you sir, are completely wrong to tell them not to do so because the said contribution is called tithe. Telling them not to, is a contradiction to what you yourself have admitted to being, an expectation of Christians i.e. making charitable donations (even if its through your place of worship).

Telling people to stop making charitable donations to their places of worship on a monthly basis is outright wrong and senseless.

Now, on a separate note, each individual has a responsibility of making sure that they avoid being taken for a ride by unscrupulous "pastors or imams".[/quote]No one is saying you wouldn't be blessed but is the person who doesn't give 10% of their income to church under the curse in Malachi?

knowledge4: All tithes must be paid immediately as commanded in Malachi 3 and Leviticus 27:30
Tithing is a covenant obligation and it is mandatory for true worshippers too.
Under no account are tithes to be converted to other uses.
For example,you cannot use your tithes to pay hospital bills even if your son is at the point of death and the tithe is all that you have on you.it is also forbidden to use tithes for other church related expenses for e.g you cannot use the tithes on you to conduct repairs in the church or give as an offering or gift to a Man of God.You cannot even use the tithes on you to help a brother in need.First things first,pay your tithes to God and the same God will make a way to solve the other pressing challenges confronting you.The Just shall live by faith.Tithes are seperated unto God.Tithe is different from offerings or gifts.
To fail to pay in full and promptly or to convert it to other purposes is outright disobedience and a lack of faith in God.Shows that you are leaning on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)To obey is better than sacrifice(1 Samuel 15:22).it is better to suffer for righteousness(eg paying tithes when not convenient and going through the inconveniences of doing so) than to be punished by God for the unrighteousness of failure to pay tithes in full and promptly.If you suffer for righteousness,the pain will be temporal because the God whom you honored will make the pain light.If you disobey and suffer for unrighteousness,who can deliver you out of His hand?
Pay your own tithes faithfully.God will honor His covenant with you and reward you for your obedience.It is not your business how the church expends it.They will give account of how every penny was spent.God is not mocked.He is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29)

Deut 14:22 and 28 as posted by Enigma shows that even during the rigidity of the Law, Israelites were allowed eat their tithe "23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD". They were allowed to be compassionate and help the needy by giving them tithe, pls see Deut 14"29And 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".

All this talk of not using a tenth of your income for a sick child who is about to die is man made doctrines and must be painful for our Lord Jesus Christ to watch his followers be so cold and uncaring.

My brother Knowledge4, we can be passionately wrong even with the right intentions. The teachings from our Father's (pastors/MOG) have been wrong and have put people in bondage.

When you said "Tithing is a covenant obligation and it is mandatory for true worshippers too."

- It is not true. God spoke to the physical children of Israel and it is mandatory for them.

- Even if we say it was a shadow and we are spiritual children and we want to follow the tithing law given to the children of Israel, the Christian church has modified/changed God's instruction/law to meet the obligation.

*How have they changed the law?

*By giving money/cash instead of food and livestock.
*The church today ignores the part where God's children used the tithe for themselves to make merry,
*it ignores the part about using the tithe for the needy.

- Most importantly the church ignores the only way to give directly to God in the Christian dispensation "Whatsoever you do, to the least of my brethren, that you do unto me".

The altar today is not one made of human hands, giving to God today is by giving to the poor and needy. If you believe the way to give to God is to take it to a physical building or a MOG you miss what Christ was all about.

Any early Christian Pastor who would have attempted to teach that the Malachi curse applies to gentile Christians would have been quickly branded a heretic.

In fact, the curse in Malachi was for those Israelites who did not follow strictly God’s formula for tithing. Early gentile Christians would be told straight out that because they are not Israelites, they cannot meet the strict rules required for them to be compliant. They can give ten per cent of their income if they so choose but are not under any curse for not doing so.


* Please those who insist tithing must be done or else a curse would apply should tell us how Jesus or any of the fishermen Apostles would have been able to pay tithe with their wages, Did God instruct them to take it to the storehouse? If they had approached the Priests, were the priests instructed by God to accept money? No! They would have been cursed for attempting to change God's instructions.


Pls brethren, on the Last Day, the measure will be what you did for others. “Whatsoever you do for the least of my brethren, that you do unto me.” You should give in church but you are not cursed neither is it mandatory to tithe.

@OP, please give to your brother, the Lord Himself does not condemn you. As a poster said, remember the good samaritan.

Good bible students, come let's reason together. The way God dealt with His people in the old testament was very strict. When he lays out an instruction, follow it to the letter or else punishment awaits you. It is why the curse in Malachi was given.

Please those who tithe according to Malachi should make sure to obey God's instructions to the letter. Pls do not add to God's word so you don't fall into God's curse in Malachi.

To obey his instructions on tithing to the letter you must do the following:

1. You must live in Israel and should have inherited the lands in physical Israel.
2. You must be a direct descendant physically of Israel
3. You must be farmers in food stock or livestock on the inherited physical land of Israel
4. You must give the tithe to the widows or orphans or strangers or those from the physical tribe of Levi
5. You must eat the tithe in celebration or change it to money and buy food, wine, strong drink (kai kai) and make merry in the physical place God chooses in the physical land of Israel.
6. Even outside of the Moses Tithe, You must only give a one off tithe like Abraham from items plundered in war. (Abraham was already blessed (rich) before this tithe).

The single-minded desire and pursuit of money as a reflection of spirituality is at the core of the teaching. The consequence of monetary gain being the yardstick for measuring spirituality is myriad.

1. It waters down the shame with which a society approaches stolen wealth. The self-styled MOG accepts money whatever the source. Politicians whose forte is stealing blind the populace causing bad roads (accidents), poor health care (think of all the precious babies dying) etc are readily welcome and given front seat pews. The wealth of the MOG is made up of blood money.

2. The MOG are very, very reluctant to chastise those who provide a very large percentage of their stupendous wealth. Woe betides the stupid wife who attempts to approach pastor and tell of domestic violence in the hands of pastor’s pet (money donating). Na imaginary wozai pastor go the give the yeye babe (‘endure my dear’, ‘pray harder’, ‘nto’!)

3. Our young ones aim to get rich whatever the means after all, honour and fame in society and church are theirs once the Benjamins roll in.

4. The poor (treasured of our precious Lord Jesus Christ) are viewed as worse than lepers. They are the outward reflection of the most profane curse our cultish clan can conjure. In their haste to flee from any association (whether it be giving or loving), they quote biblical verses taken out of context e.g.’ the poor will always be with us’ is used as a cop out for not helping forgetting that since the Lord Jesus is not with us we should give the poor our most treasured like the lady did with the alabaster oil. His admonition was that she could pour it out for Him then because he was present on earth.

5. The great MOG downplay the fact that on the Last Day, the measure will be what you did for others and not for the great MOG. In their followers haste to follow Christ, the fact that their utmost should be for the poor and downtrodden is only whispered and never shouted loud from the rooftops (The MOG don’t want people to take matters into their own hands by helping the poor directly; the source of ready funds for the MOGs empire will be taken away and given for the poor, it would deplete his pocket!). Some would say they want a prophet’s reward, all well and good but how about going for Our Lord Jesus’ reward? When you give to the poor, you give to our Lord Jesus!

6. The greatest problem of all is that instead of seeing Jesus when they see the poor, they see an aberration, a stigma, an abomination forgetting that “Whatsoever you do for the least of my brethren, that you do unto me.”

7. The Sheep become so sated in the calming hypnotic verses that they momentarily forget the’ siegelike’, warlike zone they live in. Craters for roads, appalling healthcare, epileptic power, poor children wandering the streets, sick and dying people for whom scientific breakthroughs abound but who have no access etc.

8. A people not so distracted by the evil marriage of the politicians and clergy would readily see their plight for what it is and hold the politicians to account.

9. But the politicians are smart; they pacify the MOG who in turn pacifies his followers.

When you are sucking on the teat of hypnotic and misapplied verses you go off into a stupor, content in your own little world ignoring the many whose travails of the soul cannot be uttered, those who matter the most to Him whom we profess to love.

Our MOG would curse a people who are not equipped to meet the strict formula set out in order to be compliant.

1. They do not live in Israel neither did they inherit the lands in physical Israel.

2. They are not the physical children of Israel

3. They are not farmers in food stock or livestock on the inherited physical land of Israel

4. They do not give the tithe to the widows or orphans or strangers or those from the tribe of Levi

5. They do not eat the tithe in celebration or change it to money and buy food, wine, strong drink (kai kai) and make merry in the physical place God chooses.

6. Even outside of the Moses Tithe, they do not give a one off tithe like Abraham from items plundered in war.


(Mama go sick for village, her son who was lovingly straddled on her back while she bent over in the hot sun to fry akara to send him to school would say, ‘I can’t give you money to go to hospital, I only have my tithe, I don’t want a curse’. Or worse still, they begin the divide and rule, ‘mama, don’t call me, my Pastor saw a vision and said you are a witch!’)

Nigeria is a country where powerful cults dot the landscape and their powerful leaders straddle the populace like colossi. They ride on the fickle minds of their followers and create a culture where the worship of the leader is king, second only to the worship of Mammon, the powerful god of money spoken about in the bible.

The bedrock of the stupendous wealth of these leaders lies in obscure Old Testament passages quoted excessively to frighten their hapless followers. Once the Malachi sword has been made to hang like the sword of Damocles over the minds of the gullible, their hypnotised sheep empty regularly and without fail, ten per cent of their earnings for life into the offering baskets of the Man of God. Any attempt to question the high and mighty Man of God is silenced with a barrage of curses which would make even Lucifer blush crimson bright, the brightness overshadowing the flames of hell.

And so, the reality that any early Christian Pastor who would have attempted to teach that the Malachi curse applies to gentile Christians would have been quickly branded a heretic escapes even the most biblically versed Cultish Christian.

In fact, the curse in Malachi was for those Israelites who did not follow strictly God’s formula for tithing. Early gentile Christians would be told straight out that because they are not Israelites, they cannot meet the strict rules required for them to be compliant. They can give ten per cent of their income if they so choose but are not under any curse for not doing so.

Jem1: 1. God no longer dwells in houses built with human hands.
2. Jesus said whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me.
3. This means if you want to give directly to Jesus, give to the needy e.g. the orphanage.
4. Giving to the orphanage is giving to Jesus.
5. Jesus didn't pay tithe from wages from carpentary work (Malachi robbing God curse did not apply to him)
6. If he had tried to pay from wages there would be no way to pay cash. (God's law on tithes could not be met by cash)
7. Apostle Peter and the others didn't pay tithe from wages. (Malachi robbing God curse did not apply to them)
8. Early Christians didn't pay tithes from cash (Malachi robbing God curse did not apply to them)
9. Please give to Jesus by giving to the orphans.
10. You will not be under a Malachi curse for giving 10% of your wages to orphans.

I pray that one day, the eyes of my brethren will open cos then they will be free to help their neighbour and be 'good samaritans'. The truth is that very few people have any money left over after meeting the necessities of rent, food, etc if you add tithe (which is not even mandatory) to the mix. Think what you would do with one years tithe if you keep it, you can build boreholes, pay school fees, house rent for widows, etc. Think further if you combine one year's tithe equivalent with your friend/s, Nigeria will be transformed.

1. God no longer dwells in houses built with human hands.
2. Jesus said whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me.
3. This means if you want to give directly to Jesus, give to the needy e.g. the orphanage.
4. Giving to the orphanage is giving to Jesus.
5. Jesus didn't pay tithe from wages from carpentary work (Malachi robbing God curse did not apply to him)
6. If he had tried to pay from wages there would be no way to pay cash. (God's law on tithes could not be met by cash)
7. Apostle Peter and the others didn't pay tithe from wages. (Malachi robbing God curse did not apply to them)
8. Early Christians didn't pay tithes from cash (Malachi robbing God curse did not apply to them)
9. Please give to Jesus by giving to the orphans.
10. You will not be under a Malachi curse for giving 10% of your wages to orphans.

"According to the study, of the Black women that were diagnosed with having uterine fibroids, a disproportionate amount of those women have used relaxers, a fact that raises the hypothesis that relaxer use may be correlated with increased risk of fibroid development."


I hope this is not true, the hypothesis needs to be tested to check if there is a causal link. I'm more worried about children as they may be exposed for much longer as they are starting younger and younger,

http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/02/hair-relaxers-and-fibroids.html