Wrong teachings on giving to God have flooded the church today because of charlatans who see devotion to God as a means to financial gain.
Sometimes you hear statements from the pulpit like, “If you don’t have, you can borrow to give to God.” Somebody actually once said this to my wife and I regarding our building project: “Even if your members don’t have money, they can borrow to give to God.” Then, he added this line: “What if someone doesn’t have money and his child suddenly falls sick and needs to be taken to the hospital. If he doesn’t have medical insurance, won’t he borrow money to foot the medical bills? How much more when it concerns giving to God?”
In other words, when it comes to giving to God and you don’t have, you borrow. That’s a lie from the pit of hell.
If you’re a pastor and you’re telling people to borrow to give to God, you’re a thief. You’re a crook, and may God forgive you in Jesus name.
You should never borrow to give to God. Anybody who tells you to borrow to give to God is a criminal.
God does not expect you to borrow to give him. In fact, God does not expect a tithe from you if he hasn’t given you anything. The God Almighty that we worship is a just God; He does not reap where He did not sow.
Tithing is an expression of thanksgiving. For example, I get 50 Naira and I give God a tithe on it in gratitude. I tithe a part of it in an expression of allegiance to God. I say to Him by my giving, “Lord this came from you. You are my God, You are my king, and I recognize that this provision came from You.” Giving to God should not involve borrowing.
Pagans in Africa understood this concept of tithing as an expression of allegiance to God. They usually came back from their farms with kegs of palm wine. And before they take any sip from the wine, they first pour out some on the bare earth. This was because they worshiped the earth, sand, and their dead ancestors buried in the earth as their gods. They never tasted that wine without first giving some to their worthless gods.
Though they ignorantly worshiped idols, those African ancestors were wiser than most Christian folks today regarding how to honor deity with one’s resources. In those days, they would go out to the places where they had those silly things they called gods, and would pour out some palm wine to them. Then they would say things like, “Drink your own wine; it came from you.” With such statements, they expressed thanks and allegiance to their gods. And they usually poured generous amounts of the palm wine on the bare earth. Some would even pour out the whole keg before going back to drink the remaining wine in the house.
Talk about worship! They were worshiping the earth.
Understand: God does not expect you to give Him what he has not given you; so don’t borrow. If you borrow and give to God, He won’t accept it. Your giving to God should not involve borrowing.
Memory Verse:
2 Corinthians 8:12
“For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank You that I don’t have to borrow to God. I pledge to give to You from the abundant provisions that You’ve already blessed me with, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.