WHERE DO I TITHE?
Tithing does not require you to take your money to your pastor or local church. The title is the only thing that is directly given to God. So, the big question is, where do you tithe? It is simple. Take it to God yourself by using it to bless the people that God brings your way; they can be strangers, family members, friends, or neighbors, whichever. Do it as directed by God.
And if you must take it to the Church, the Church must have a storehouse; otherwise, they don’t deserve or have the right to collect the tithe. So, bring all your tithes to the Storehouse of God. That’s what the Bible says. Not to your pastor or priest, not to your Church or worship temple, not at all, but to the Storehouse of God.
So, what is the Storehouse of God? According to the Bible, it is a place where goods, provisions, or substances are stored for onward distribution to the needy, which is to be done by the Levite. A well-structured welfare department is a good sample of Store House. Unfortunately, most churches do not have it. But for those who have it, the welfare department is either the poorest or the most neglected in the Church. A single Tithe doesn’t go there at all, and such churches don’t have the authority or right to receive Tithes. Instead, consider donating your tithe to an orphanage if you’re unsure what to do with it. A well-organized orphanage home is another good example of God’s Storehouse; I am not referring to those that stray from their mission, but rather to those that deceive the public to enrich themselves.
Lastly, you can spend it to enjoy yourself if there is no storehouse in your city or location, but you must pay the accumulated tithe to the needy every three years. The Bible said it, and I quote ” Deut 14:22-15:1
“You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. 23“You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24“If the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the LORD your God blesses you, 25then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26“You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27“Also, you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.
28“At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. 29“The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Deut 14:22-15:1 ASV “
So, if for any reason, your tithe can’t be taken to the storehouse, convert it to money value and share it with the needy or poor, or spend it on yourself and your friends. Then, after three years, you can also bring the accumulated tithe to the city gate and distribute it to all those in need.
So, you see, in the absence of a storehouse, the tithe should be given to the poor or needy directly, and that is the fastest way to give to God.
Whether you believe it or not, today’s churches don’t have storehouses, so they are not entitled to receive tithes. The welfare departments of today’s churches, which are supposed to be examples of storehouses, are the poorest, with little or no substance. The pastor does not permit them to collect tithes and manage the funds as prescribed in the Bible.
The Bible says the Levites are to receive the tithe and manage it as they see fit, not the Pastor, Church accountant, or Church bank account, but the Levite.
Your tithe is supposed to make you super blessed and super-rich. Mal 3:10 says God will open the windows of Heaven and pour you a blessing so great that there shall not be room enough to receive it. I’m not sure if you understand the meaning of that kind of blessing; it is not a regular kind of blessing, where you wake up from sleep, earn wages, profit from a business, or have a safe journey, etc. So do not let your pastors fool you with that. That is God’s blessing for everyone, whether you are a Christian or not, tithe or not, good or bad, as long as you believe.
I am talking about super-rich blessings for which there will be no room or bank account enough to receive them, and without sorrow, too; just read Mal 3:10 again and again. Check the richest men in the world today. They have foundations (charity organizations) through which they unknowingly pay a tithe, as part of the foundation’s system of giving back to society or the less privileged. They pay their Tithe to GOD, and they don’t even know it. And yet they are getting blessed and getting richer. You, too, can be rich like them or even richer if only you could pay your tithe to God instead of giving it to your Pastor.
Check your life since you have been paying tithe to your Church or Pastor. Can you, in all honesty, say you are super-rich? But your Pastor, who’s receiving your tithe, is far richer than you. Does that not tell you something is wrong somewhere?
Perhaps you’re unfamiliar with the term “super-rich.” Pay your tithe as prescribed by the Bible and see how you will become blessed and rich as you cannot imagine.
Whose to collect the tithe?
Most of the time, we hear pastors say they are responsible for collecting the tithe and blessing the giver. This is not true, according to the Bible. God, the owner and originator of the tithe, clearly states in the Bible that the Levites are to collect the tithe from the congregation. In this context, God is not just talking about receiving tithes from the congregation. But also, the Levites should store it in the Storehouse, possess it, and administer it to themselves, to others in need, and to the pastor if in need too.
However, today we see pastors collecting tithes directly or indirectly through ushers, hosts, or whatever the Church chooses to call them. The Usher will count it and hand it over to the Church accountant or whoever is in charge, who will then transfer the money to the bank. In some cases, the pastors will take it to the bank themselves. Once in the bank account, the pastor will possess, administer, and use it as he sees fit, either for his own purposes or to fund Church maintenance, most often for both.
And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough,
and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees,
of wine and oil, unto the priests,
to the chambers of the house of our God;
and the Tithes of our ground unto the Levites,
that the same Levites might have the
Tithes in all the cities of our tillage. Neh 10:37 KJV
The above verse clearly states that the Priest/Pastor can receive the offering, but the tithe must be received by the Levite, who is an Usher.
According to the verse, the pastor has no right to collect the tithe, use it for anything, or withdraw it from the bank account where it was deposited. The pastor has no right over any part of the tithe, but the Levite does. It is their right and duty.
And he had prepared for him a great chamber,
where at times they laid the meat offerings,
the frankincense, and the vessels,
and the Tithes of the corn, the new wine,
and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites,
and the singers, and the porters;
and the offerings for the priests. Neh 13:5 KJV
Check the underlined sentences again
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.
Deut 26:12 NIV
Please read it again and again, even if you don’t like it, as you can see, the tithe is not supposed to be given every Sunday or at the end of every month. A tithe is whenever you have it. It can happen every day or even just once a year. It can accumulate once every three years. But it should be given to the needy or used to help the poor directly, especially when the Church has no storehouse. And if you must take it to the Church, use it to bless the ushers, who are Levites, or use it to do good to those who need it, or give it to the Choir. Of course, most pastors do not like this. It doesn’t matter; they are mere men, do it for God, who is God Almighty.
God, not your pastor, owns the tithe. The Levites are to collect and redistribute to everyone as needed, especially to the Levites themselves, for they are the ones who bear the burden of the labor force in the Church.
And any church that doesn’t have a storehouse of God doesn’t need to collect tithes, and, by the look of today’s Churches, none have the Storehouse of God.
All of them have bank accounts where the pastor controls the withdrawals, so you see, it is the pastors who are robbing God, not you, who fail to give your tithe to them.
Check this:
He who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet
shall receive a prophet’s reward;
and he who receives and welcomes and accepts
a righteous man because he is a righteous man
shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives one of these little ones
even a cup of cold water because he is my disciple,
Surely, I declare to you that
He shall not lose his reward. Matt 10:41-42 AMP
Those of you who rush to give to a pastor because he is a pastor will receive no reward from God. All you have are pastoral rewards, which are empty words. Who is he that speaks, and it came to pass if the Lord has not spoken?
You have been giving to the pastor all your life, and despite his prayers, you still face financial difficulties and stress, even though he is richer than you. You are supposed to be richer than the person you are always giving to, but now you live in the empty hope of a miracle coming your way soon, while the pastor is busy enjoying your money. My dear, wake up! Or do you think it was a joke when God said He would open the windows of Heaven and bless you, that there would not be enough room for it? I am not even sure you know what that means; it means you will be SUPER RICH FINANCIALLY WITH GOOD HEALTH AND PROTECTION ALL ROUND. So, if you have been tithing for years and you are not super-rich, it is simply because you are giving it to the wrong person, “your pastor and the church.” Start giving your Tithe to God directly, and you will see your financial life improve dramatically as God rewards you.
Always have this in mind: it is better to receive God’s reward than a Pastor’s reward, and the choice is yours.
How Do You Give It to God Directly?
I want to say that most of you have missed many opportunities that God designed to bless you because you place more faith in your pastor than in God Almighty.
Can you imagine God presenting an opportunity to you to help your struggling brother or neighbor with money, either for school fees, house rent, or a business investment? You would ignore the thought and turn around to give it to your Pastor or Church. Most of the time, you want the Church to honor you for bringing in or donating a large sum of money. I don’t know what you want in life. Is it the Pastor’s honor or God’s Honor? The choice is still yours.
Note that a tithe is different from an offering; an offering is anything you feel like giving to the church. It can be big or small, and it may even be your service or time. It depends on you to figure it out. But tithe is a demand by God; it is not something you offer to the pastor or church. It is something you bring directly to God; you can take it wherever God wants you to. You give it to whom God wants you to give it to.
Suppose God did not direct you to give it to anyone or take it to any place. In that case, you must take it back to the original place, the Storehouse of God. If it is too far from you, then you are permitted to eat your tithe with your loved ones in the name of God, and also to remember to pay back all your full tithe to an orphanage or the destitute in the coming years. Your pastor won’t like this, I am sure. But it is what the Bible says.
Options to pay your tithes:
- Take it to the Levite/Usher to administer it in the storehouse of God. (for themselves, the choirs, the widows, the orphans, or any members in serious need)
- When there is no Levite or storehouse, give it by yourself to the orphans, widows, or give it to anyone in the city in need that God directs you to
- Use it to help your family or a neighbor in need, whether for food, rent, school fees, pressing bills, business or trade investments, or any other pressing need you can address.
- When none of the above are available, you can use your tithe for whatever you like. If your titles are material things that you need to sell, you can sell them and spend the money on yourself and your friends, taking them out to drink and eat what is good; it’s your God’s money.
- Lastly, gather your tithes and distribute them every three years to those in need, either through a foundation that genuinely helps people, a genuine orphanage, or any other platform with a genuine interest in helping people and saving lives.
That’s how to give to God directly. And this is what Jesus meant when he said in Matthew 25: 42 – 45: for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.
