What if financial donations in religious houses were scrapped off?
Greetings!
No lies, things are hard and are getting harder on a daily basis, and there are a lot of activities (both compulsory and necessary) that, if put on pause or removed finally in these hard times, would somehow ease off man's choking lifestyle.
Disclaimer: Before you read further, this article contains a controversial take on a religious lifestyle, and it's definitely against your stance. So you can stop reading from here. Also, before I get bashed, I'm a Christian, a very committed one with my in-heart service to God and my physical output also as an usher, just like most of you know. I understand the concept of giving offerings and other financial obligations and am fully into them.
Okay, like we know, life is hard now for the average human in Nigeria. What if things like offering and giving in general in religious houses were scrapped? Don't you think the life of a man would be somewhat relieved to an extent? ...People are boldly taxed heavily these days all in the name of giving to God
If you look out there, there are a lot of people who no longer fancy serving their God in religious houses because they consider the numerous offerings in some places too much, and as such, it's hard for them to pull out such amounts to visit the ground two or three times a week.
Last Sunday that just passed, after I had dressed up and was ready to leave for church, I got a prompt to call Precious, one of our unit members who has not been in church for a long while. I wanted to ask her why she hasn't been coming to church and beg her to come with me.
"My brother, I'm too broke this period and you know, going to church a day will take almost N1,500 (transport and offering)," she responded, and I fully understood her because our side is far from the church and transportation alone would cost almost N800 to and fro.
One can't go to church without offering. It's not like one can't go to church without offering, but it'll look somehow, at least within one's heart, that it's good to appear before the Lord with something in hand.
Okay, before you go ahead to criticize her, the truth is that there are a lot of people out there that, once they don't have money for offering for a church service, it'll be a bad feeling for them. Do you blame them? No. It is the kind of sermon they've been fed, and that settles in their mind.
I know how much I spend on the days I go to church within the week (at least twice a week), and hey, it's very big.
Currently, one of my neighbors doesn't go to church, and anytime he sees me dressing for church or coming back, he always applauds me, saying I'm trying for my regular spending to church almost four times a week.
If religious houses were made in such a way that people could come and worship their God without the compulsory giving, it would move a lot of people to improve their spiritual lives.
I know you'll say giving is never compulsory in religious houses. In case you don't know, most of these religious houses make their sermons about giving as compulsory as anything, and the day you don't have, your mind will start judging you like you're committing a sin.
I beg to stop here to limit the bashing and endless sermons I would get.
Thank you for reading.
** This is my entry to Hivenaija prompt of the week**
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It's true that churches today tax people a lot, Tithe, offering, even common to pray for you Pastor would still collect money.
I was in Keke one day and the Keke MN was saying that if he had a way he'll close all churches, and I think that is bound to happen one day! They make things more difficult in this country
Church is doing more harm than good today and so called religious leaders are active in shameless ways!
No offense though!
Thank God I'm seeing someone reasoning in the same direction.
Truth is the, church is business which is acceptable to an extent. But the way its focuses are being channelled to Profit and nothing else is damn alarming.
If I see people that refuse to go to church due to these reasonings, I don't push them.
For me, yes I give but I'm very mindful of how I give. You can't be taxing me and tagging it sacrifice.
Imagine, there was a wedding I attended and because the local government chairman came to the wedding, the pastor said he saw a vision that the chairman would drop a huge amount of money before he leaves.
I just weak,😅
If it was before now, I'd have rolled out many sermons to knock you on the head but my dear, I've worked for two years and my salary only goes to church givings and transport to church. By the end of first week, I don broke. I had nothing I can point at for those two years and funnily enough, I wasn't buying foodstuff or paying house rent and I wasn't even transporting to work, it's 10mins trek. I kinda wasted my life those years. I borrowed money sef
Nobody told me when I cut down on a lot of church things.
Church will teach you to borrow for the work of the Lord, give all your salary/income, always attend every church meeting which is not bad if you have the capacity to do it but the situation of life now is not one to put financial stress on anybody.
Congregants should also not be so gullible. That you don't have offering does not make you less of a christian. They shouldn't die because they don't have to give.
Of course, giving is biblical and makes for the smooth running of the church but when it's choky I don't know what to call it. If we can't help our people, make we no add to their yoke oh. Church wasn't supposed to be a business center.
Scriptural giving wasn't to give what you don't have, it's giving that's proportionate to your pocket. Those who gave then gave from what they had.
I'm still looking for a time to ask my pastor where the apostles in the Bible borrowed for the work of the Lord maybe I'm not seeing it.
I don type a whole blog post 😆
✌️ ✌️
And I was feeling like an antichrist, considering the volume of attacks I was expecting, before I posted this😅
You said it all,
I used to be all out to all the practices in church but when I considered some certain things, I had to cut down and do the ones that are a bit pleasing to my heart, instead of giving with double mind or grudges.
After I was done with Nysc and due to lockdown, I was at villa doing nothing and when I was about to pull out, one of the pastors said I should stay put and serve God more.
Stay put where?😂 To be eating and spending the little I was getting in church church and church, no na.
All these, na just wisdom.
Thanks for the comment. It made realised I'm not an antichrist 😂
You're not an antichrist.
I am in the same position of cutting down
I spend the money I make from the business I just started on church activities.
I don too put nose for church things for this life, ah! I lost all the drive for what I do naturally. Everything goes to church. Thank God for my siblings and parents.
It was when my dad pointed out what I used to do, all my handiwork that should have made me a financially stable that I've neglected, he said "you have this brain, your IQ is high but you're wasting it" na then I know that my matter don tie multiple wrapper. He was like serve God and be useful for yourself too. My brain went back to default settings oh.
I don give the money I have and the one I don't have. The country has its headache, church shouldn't add to it.
It takes wisdom as you said already.
That's why anytime I get to meet any young adult that's all our for church, I try to caution him or her(if I'm close to the person though)
Well, going all out for church is not bad as long as the fellow had found stability with church activities and personal development.
The main problem is the false prophets that God did not call but decided to open a church center just to make money, We have more churches in this country than factories now, and hardly you see any street without a church...They have monetized it and that is the problem.
The thing is very alarming.
I've given it thoughts many times...
...since God don't punish these people on earth...
...maybe He has accepted it as a means of livelihood...
...maybe I should go and open my own church too😅
Truly said oo, I can remember so many times I don't go to church because everyone always looks at me as if I'm a sinner,because of that I only go when I have something to offer.
This is exactly what I'm saying.
Our minds have been cultured in such away that whenever we don't have something to give, it becomes a sin.
May God help us.
Amen.
Thank you for stopping by
He will help us oo. Glad to read you
Your point is valid. Sometimes I stay at home coz I don't have offering.
It's sad coz the presence of God is like a bank, you can't go in without depositing any money.
I used to think you're the 'righteous churchy' girl that can't miss a church because of lack of offering 😂.
Are you sure we are not going to stage a protest for federal government to stop offerings in church?
!Lolz 😂
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Hmm😂😂, well you are wrong 😂😂
It's not the government problem, it's the church itself that needs to fix it lo
Taxes, that's compulsory, I'd go to jail if I didn't pay up. Tithing, at least in my Church, it's voluntary and according to one's means.
Yeah, that's the correct Bible practice but it has been turned upside down.
Just read people's comments on this article and see how lack of offerings are making them not to appear in church sometimes.
The mind is willing to play according to the bible but upside down sermon concerning giving has polluted the mind a lot.
Thanks for reading.
I can reasonably say that too many Western world churches are not immune to that kind of thinking.
Yeah, true👍
It's crazy that people are made to feel that way. It made me wonder how fine people were during COVID period were everyone, in the confines of their home , joined prayers through zoom or other means.
Giving should be made voluntary. No one should have to carry that guilt especially when they are barely surviving themselves.
#dreemerforlife
I'm sure you didn't see the electronics means of giving that were introduced then by many churches. Even my church was inclusive 😂
If you fail to know God on a personal level, you will pay for it.
There are no two ways about it really.
Being a religious leader is a full time job. Praying for people and counselling them is also a full time job.
The church for many members is a place of refuge, a place for salvation and liberation. If you are getting value for something you pay for it.
Some people cannot pray, to fast they will go and meet pastor to organise some church member called prayer warriors to pray and fast for them.
Some it is even the pastor that pray or fast on their behalf and you say make pastor no bill them? Make pastor no use half of Sunday service preach about tithing and other ways to extort money from the members?
Basically if you dey like me wei no believe in religious houses, nobody will gaslight you to be financing pastors or other religious leaders.
Then it becomes giving at your own pace and capacity for the maintenance of the religious house and not to finance your religious leader's baby boy lifestyle.
Came in from #dreemport
#dreemerforlife
I wasn't expecting anything less from you 😂.
It feels good to see people with this same mindset, people that are not blindfolded by these religious leaders.
Well, I pity people that are walking with their eyes closed.
Thank you for stopping by
They will all learn the hard way 😅 and you are welcome 🙂