An 82-year-old man who has been born again for 32 years but does not pay tithe believing that it is against the practice, has slammed pastors who he said is using tithe to defraud their church members.
82-year-old Ghanaian Council of State member, Sam Okudzeto has said that Pastors are using the Old Testament idea of tithing to “blackmail” their church members into dispensing with their hard-earned money, most of which goes into individuals’ pockets, and that is “wrong”.
Okudjeto who has been born again for 32 years but does not pay tithe becuase he belief that its against the practice, says pastors take advantage of Malachi 3:10 which says: “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it,’” to fleece their church members.
He said; “I have a different concept of tithe,” the former president of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) told Paul Adom-Otchere in an interview on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme.
“I have argued with pastors that they are using the tithe as a ruse to blackmail people to give money and I said it is wrong. I give, I don’t go and give tithe. And I give not only to church, I give to church, I give to people who have need, I help those who I think are in a situation where they need help.
“I don’t pay tithe because that’s Old Testament concept and I’ve told the pastors that they are wrong because they are using Malachi to entice people to collect money from them and that money that goes to them does not help the poor and the needy. They do not, no,” Mr Okudzeto said.
According to him, “…everybody is opening a church, every corner you turn in Accra, there is a church,” because the pastors are using the tithing concept to enrich themselves.
“God does not bless you because you give tithe, God blesses you because you’re worshipping him. He blesses you because you love your neighbour as yourself, and you provide for your neighbour when he has need, that is what God wants you to do. So, we are turning the Bible upside down.”
Video below-
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Stop been ***barred word*** and read your bible well . Do more research . Your arguments about Abraham, Jacob etc. are shallow and inconsistent with our dispensation. Granted it's permitted according to your believe, how come any of the desciples nor the Jesus himself never paying tithes.
With all respects to the venerable gentleman I would veer a bit with him on this subject. Abraham paid tithe even when Levite was in his loins so did Jacob whom I believed caught this revelation from his father Isaac. Not tithing will not preclude you from entering heaven but those of us who do it, do know the benefits both tangible and intangible derived from it. I'm a firm a believer and practitioner of tithing. The issue raised by many here on this forum which may hold some water comes from the fact that some Christian institutions and pastors for that matter have abused and misused the monies given by their congregants. That said however does not make it invalid. Jesus mentioned you should have done or practiced the most important aspect of the law, upon which the commands of God hinged without leaving the rest undone (Tithing). Again as I have said the just shall live by faith. My advise is find a good bible believing church with a good structure and a system of checks and balance where you can honor God faithfully with your life and finances which includes your tithe.
But if i may ask has somebody forcefully taken tithes from you people who are condeming it? Its a matter of believe, go to Israel today they still pay tithes and are richer than most of us, so pls u guys should cool off and leave those who wish to pay and recieve its blessings.
Is Tithing not Worship?? why do men want to establish their own righteousness instead of being obedient? hmm, the wisdom of men, earthly wisdom
I am 10000% in agreement with Mr. Sam Okudzeto. Christianity itself lost its appeal many years ago when so-called Christian evangelists (or if you like "men of God") distorted the word of God and propagated the distortion to suit their own perverted desires.
Tithing lost its relevance when Jesus Christ came and said " It Is Finished". It is just unfortunate some of these so-called men-of-God are still exploiting Malachi 3:10 for their s.e.l.fish interests just because it is in the Bible. The question one needs to ask is: how is the money collected through tithing accounted for? Most of it goes to enrich these pastors some of who already have jobs anyway,rendering the need for tithes invalid.I personally have no problem helping fund church projects for the benefit of the congregation as obtains in the Catholic Church. But to dedicate 10% of my earnings to a pastor for him to buy private jets and buy remote-controlled gated houses whilst some of his members wallow in poverty I will not do!As the elder statesman rightly pointed out the greatest Law of God is love. if you have faith to move mountains but no love it means nothing! And to make sure we appreciate how important love is He went ahead to demonstrate with countless examples of parables about love. And He painted a picture on Judgement Day: '......depart from me wicked souls....I was hungry and you didn't feed me,thirsty and you didnt give me a drink'. He did not throw them out because they didn't pay tithe. So these pastors should stop fleecing their church members in the name of tithing. It is good to contribute to the development of church projects and I encourage everyone to do so willingly according to your strength.
Hmmmm. Thank God I am not the only one who thinks that tithing has been completely abolished under the new testament. Christians must begin to read the bible on their own and stop relying solely on what the pastors say. The New Testament says we should seek first the kingdom of God and ALL other things shall be added. Paying tithe will not guarantee blessings but seeking the Lord's kingdom with all its righteousness will. PERIOD!!!!! But hei, remember to give to the church. Support God's work. But do not entangle yourself with the law. The law makes no one perfect. In any case, who can pay a 10th of ALL??? You will certainly Rob GOD!!!!!!!The law, indeed,makes no one perfect. Perfection can only be found in God through Jesus
it is not just the tithe, modern day Christianity has lost its touch. A whole lot is wrong with modern day Christianity. Unfortunately the congregants are bunch of lazy people who have refused to read and make sense on their own. God Have mercy on us all.
I heard the whole conversation yesterday and I think it made a lot of sense.
100% true!!! Tithe was meant for the upkeep of the Priests whose mandate was to remain in the temple for God's work. They were to make sure sacrifices are made on behalf of any Israelite who needed it at any time. Now that we have the Chief Priest, Jesus Christ, there is no need for any 'small priests' before we can turn to God. We can always reach out to God through the Chief Priest. This makes thithing people a wrong thing which goes contrary to God'd word, the Bible.