sundayword:BY PROSPER TINGINI
After the Lord our God created humanity, He made sure to make available everything needed for our sustenance. He became our God and we became His children. The only thing He asked us to do in return was to listen to His words and to obey his instructions. In the course of time we began to enjoy the sweetness of his provisions, and made Him irrelevant because we could now produce our own food and all the other necessities we need. We became our own masters.
God gave us everything. He gave us life, every single moment, every single breath, talents, our ability to talk, to create, to earn money. God gave us our body, our eyes, our ears, our mouth, our hands, our feet, our heart, He gave us our mind, our imagination, our emotions, our reasoning and our language. God gave us opportunities, some taken, some lost.
We now take all of it for granted, walking on the earth with pride as if we are self-made. We now forget everything He gave us and have become ungrateful, using the very same blessings He gave us to sin and throw back at Him. God has granted us all the opportunities to always remember Him, and faithfully pay our tithes, offerings and first fruits. He does not need these tithes and offerings for His personal use, because He has everything. His wish is that all these be directed towards the less fortunate people in our societies, to extend His demarcated portion from that which He gives us in order to benefit those in need.
Taxes of all kinds are statutory instruments and requirements for governments and nations to enable them to provide services to their citizens. From that which its citizens accrue in terms of wealth or earnings, a government requires them to pay some percentages of all income earned to enable it to extend its services to all the citizens of the country, whether rich or poor. It will ensure that the poorest of society can also be assisted with free food and other freebies from the tax revenues collected. This is the same model borrowed from the Lord our God and used across the nations to ensure survival of all humanity.
Taxes, tithes, other types of offerings are a pain to pay for most of us. We complain bitterly about paying them, forgetting who it is that has enabled us to earn that which has now accrued to us in earnings. In the Scriptures, the Pharisees sent their disciples to ask Jesus Christ on the subject of taxes, which most people hate to pay. They asked (Matthew 22:15-22): “Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of the malice, said, “Why put me to test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax”, and they brought him a coin. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marvelled; and they left him and went away.
Jesus Christ at times taught in parables. Likewise, let me also speak of another common parable told many times to illustrate the significance of taxes, tithes, firstlings etc. The parable of the tithes withholder goes as follows: A multi-billionaire was walking down the road when he saw a beggar on the sidewalk. He asked the beggar to explain his predicament and thereafter offered him help, saying, “I want to help you. But I won’t give you a job, but want you to be my business partner. Let’s start a business together”.
The beggar was astonished. He couldn’t understand or believe what he was hearing and asked, “What do you mean, Sir?” The multi-billionaire replied: “I own a rice plantation and you could be my business partner by selling the rice in the market. I will provide you the sacks of rice and pay the rent for the market stall. I will also give you a food allowance every day for the next 30 days. All you have to do is sell my rice, and at the end of the month as business partners, we will share the profits.”
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Tears of joy rolled down the beggar’s cheeks and he gracefully thanked the wealthy man, saying, “Oh, Sir, you are a gift from Heaven. You are the answer to my prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you…!” He asked the rich man, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and give you the 90% or do I keep 5% and give you the 95%? I will be happy with any arrangement.”
The wealthy many shook his head and giggled. “No, I want you to give me just the 10% and you keep the 90% for yourself.” For a moment the beggar could not speak. When he tried to speak he was at a loss of words. He could not believe his ears. It was too good to be true. The multi-billionaire explained, “I don’t need the money, my dear friend. I am already wealthy beyond what you can ever imagine. I just want you to give me 10% of your profits so you grow in faithfulness and gratitude.” The beggar knelt down before his benefactor and said, “Yes, Sir, I will do as you say. Even now, I am so grateful for what you have done for me!”
Each working day, the beggar, now also dressed smartly, operated a store selling the rice in the market. He was a hard worker and woke up early every morning and slept late at night. The rice was of good quality, so the sales were brisk and the profit was astounding.
At the end of the month, as the beggar was counting the money, liking very much the feeling of wads of money in his hands, an idea began to emerge in his mind. He then told himself, “Alas, why should I give 10% to my business partner? I didn’t see him the whole month! I was the only one who was working day and night for this business. I did all this work, alone. I deserve the 100% profits.”
A few minutes later, the wealthy man knocked on the door to collect his meagre 10% of the profits. The ex-beggar opened the door and said, “You don’t deserve the 10%. I worked hard for this. I deserve all of it, leave me alone.” And he slammed the door. He had forgotten where the rice had come from, and who had provided the start-up capital. This is exactly what happens between us and the Lord our God. These are the minds of all those who hate paying their taxes, tithe, firstlings, and other offerings. Jesus Christ told us, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” Amen.
l Prosper Tingini is the Scribe of the Children of God Missionary Assembly — God’s messengers. Contact details: 0771 260 195. Email address: [email protected]
