'We must tithe'
Published:Thursday | September 7, 2017 | 12:00 AMRuddy Mathison
PORTMORE, St Catherine:
The subject of tithing where Christians who are members of certain denominations are required to give 10 per cent of their earnings to the Church has always been a controversial issue.
Some Christian churches are steadfast in their opposition to the practice. However, according to Apostle Bishop Karen Reid Hyman of the Devine Signs and Wonder Ministries Church in Portmore, St Catherine, tithing is an obligatory offering coming from the law of Moses, where God required 10 per cent of all the produce from the children of Israel.
Bishop Reid Hyman said Christians who do not uphold this practice are going against scripture since it was first established in Leviticus 27 verses 30 to 33 where God in verse 30 requested that "All the tithes of the land, whether of seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord".
"It does line up with the word of God that every Christian should give 10 per cent of their earnings, some give from their net earnings to the Church, but my view is that it should come from their gross earning," she told Family & Religion.
MAKE UP FOR MISSED TITHES
"I am also of the view that if Christians missed one tithe, they should double up on their next, or else they would be robbing from God, as referenced in the book of Malachi 2 verses 8, 9 and 10."
According Bishop Reid Hyman, who proclaimed that she was appointed by God to the position of Apostle, tithing is also important to provide the funding necessary to take care of church obligations, including the payment of stipend for church leaders who devote themselves to full-time ministry, although some churches are opposed to the idea of church leaders being paid from church funds.
"When we oppose tithing, it is of the flesh, it is not spiritual, it is not the Word of God they are fighting against, but the Church," Bishop Reid Hyman asserts.
She said the principle of giving to God can be done in many ways, including service, what it does according to her, is establish the basis for Christians to receive what God has for them.
"The work of the Lord must go on, and when we give to His work, we ensure continuity and pay for our blessings from Him," she explained.