No. 4: Why do some Christians not experience lasting blessings?
(Na 4. Kwa nini baadhi ya Wakristo hawana baraka za kudumu?)
But we also don’t give God the way we should.
Proverbs 3:9-10 “9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. 10 Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will burst out with new wine.” We can indeed honor God with songs and prayers. God wants us to honor Him with our wealth, too. When God gives us new crops or a new job or a promotion at work, we are to give God the first-fruits. First-fruits bring blessings into your home. Ezekiel 44:30 “And the first of all the first-fruits of all things, and every offering of every kind of your offering, shall be the priest’s. And you shall give the first of your fine flour to the priest, to cause a blessing to rest upon your house.” When you honor God with your wealth, He fills your storehouse—your wallet and your bank account.
Mt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes of mint and anise and cumin, but have omitted the weightier matters of the law, namely, justice, mercy, and faith; these you ought to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Some people say that tithing is from the Old Testament. But when these same people want to be blessed, they quote the scripture that says, ‘I am the head and not the tail.’ They forget that this scripture is from the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus warned people to live holy lives but not to neglect tithing. We are to tithe everything down to the anise and the mint. God wants us to give a full tithe – a tithe of every blessing we receive. Not just a tithe of money but also a tithe of the things we receive. We are to know the value of those things and give a tithe of it. In Bible times, they tithed fruits as well. We should not use the tithe (10%) to help the poor.
In Bible times, there was a time when they added up to 30% so that they could help strangers and the poor. Believers do not have the authority to plan the use of their tithe. Use 90% of your wealth after tithing to help the needy. We are to distinguish between holy and common. Ezekiel 22:26 “Her priests have transgressed my law, they have profaned my holy things; they have not made a distinction between the holy and the common; neither have they taught the people the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from keeping my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” This means that we have to distinguish between properties for the house of God and for our own use. We also have to plan for specific offerings for each worship service. When you tithe, give the first 10% and not the last. Spend your money after tithing, and you will have honored God. While the people of the world offer their brothers as sacrifices, we are to offer our bodies as sacrifices. Sacrifice is to deprive yourself or torture yourself to the point of affecting your budget for the work of God. Rom 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.”
Na 4. Kwa nini baadhi ya Wakristo hawana baraka za kudumu?
Lakini pia hatumtolei Mungu kama inavyotakiwa.
Mit 3:9-10 “9 Mheshimu Bwana kwa mali yako, Na kwa malimbuko ya mazao yako yote. 10 Ndipo ghala zako zitakapojazwa kwa wingi, Na mashinikizo yako yatafurika divai mpya.” Ni kweli kwamba tunaweza kumheshimu Mungu kwa nyimbo na maombi. Mungu anataka tumheshimu pia kwa mali zetu. Mungu anapotupa mazao mapya au kazi mpya au kupandishwa daraja kazini, tunatakiwa kumtolea Mungu malimbuko. Malimbuko yanakalisha baraka nyumbani kwako. Ezekieli 44:30 “Na kitu cha kwanza cha malimbuko yote ya vitu vyote, na kila toleo la kila kitu cha matoleo yenu, litakuwa la makuhani. Tena mtampa kuhani sehemu ya kwanza ya unga mbichi, ili kukalisha baraka juu ya nyumba yako.” Ukimheshimu Mungu kwa mali zako, anaijaza ghala yako – pochi yako, na akaunti yako ya benki.
Mt 23:23 “Ole wenu waandishi na Mafarisayo, wanafiki! Kwa kuwa mnalipa zaka za mnanaa na bizari na jira, lakini mmeacha mambo makuu ya sheria, yaani, adili, na rehema, na imani; hayo imewapasa kuyafanya, wala yale mengine msiyaache.” Watu wengine wanasema zaka ni ya Agano la Kale. Lakini watu hao hao wanapotaka kubarikiwa wananukuu andiko linalosema, ‘Mimi ni kichwa na sio mkia.’ Wanasahau kwamba andiko hilo ni la Agano la Kale. Bwana Yesu aliwaonya watu waishi maisha matakatifu lakini wasiache kutoa zaka. Tunatakiwa kutoa zaka ya kila kitu mpaka bizari na mchicha. Mungu anataka tutoe zaka kamili – zaka ya kila baraka tunazopata. Sio zaka ya pesa peke yake bali pia zaka ya vitu tunavyopata. Tunatakiwa kujua thamani na vitu hivyo na kutoa zaka yake. Kipindi cha Biblia walitoa zaka ya matunda pia. Hatupaswi kutumia zaka (10%) kusaidia masikini. Kipindi cha Biblia kuna mwaka waliongeza hadi 30% ili waweze kuwasaidia wageni na maskini. Muumini huna mamlaka ya kupanga matumizi ya zaka yako. Tumia 90% ya mali zako baada ya kutoa zaka katika kuwasaidia wahitaji. Tunatakiwa kutofautisha vitakatifu na vya kutumiwa siku zote. Ezekieli 22:26 “Makuhani wake wameihalifu sheria yangu, wametia unajisi vitu vyangu vitakatifu; hawakuweka tofauti ya vitu vitakatifu na vitu vya kutumiwa sikuzote; wala hawakuwafundisha watu kupambanua vitu vichafu na vitu vilivyo safi, nao wamefumba macho yao, wasiziangalie sabato zangu, nami nimetiwa unajisi kati yao.” Hii ina maana kwamba kuna vitu vya kupelekwa nyumbani mwa Mungu na vya kutumia katika nyumba yako. Tunatakiwa pia kuwa na kiwango maalum cha sadaka tunazotoa kwa kila ibada nyumbani mwa Bwana. Toa 10% ya kwanza na sio ya mwisho. Tumia pesa zako baada ya kutoa zaka ndipo utakuwa umemheshimu Mungu. Wakati watu wa dunia wanawatoa ndugu zao kuwa kafara, sisi tunatakiwa tutoe miili yetu iwe kafara (dhabihu). Kujitoa kafara ni kujinyima au kujitesa kiasi cha kuathiri bajeti yako kwa ajili ya kazi ya Mungu. Rum 12:1 “Basi, ndugu zangu, nawasihi, kwa huruma zake Mungu, itoeni miili yenu iwe dhabihu iliyo hai, takatifu, ya kumpendeza Mungu, ndiyo ibada yenu yenye maana.”
Dr. Lawi Mshana, +255712924234, Tanzania
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