The nexus between tithing and prosperity in United Missionary Church of Africa, Nigeria

Abstract

Tithing, which refers to the practice of giving one-tenth of one‟s income or produce for religious purposes, is a prominent Judaeo-Christian pactice. Extant studies have focused more on the controversy surrounding the applicability of the Old Testament tithing law to Christians than its connection to the lived experience of tithers. Therefore, this study juxtaposes the practice of tithing with lived experiences of tithers in United Missionary Church of Africa (UMCA), Northcentral Nigeria with a view to ascertaining the extent to which compliance to the tithing injunction elicits God‟s blessing. This enquiry becomes germane due to the emphasis of pro-tithing churches on the inevitable nexus between prosperity and tithing. In-depth interviews were conducted on 32 purposively selected pastors and deacons: eight from each of the four language-groups districts — English-speaking district (ESD), Nupe-speaking district (NSD), Yoruba-speaking district (YSD) and Hausa-speaking district (HSD) — of UMCA. Copies of a questionnaire were administered on 757 randomly selected church members across the four language-group districts. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis, while quantitative data were subjected to percentages. UMCA mmbers think of blessing attached to tithing largely as economic emancipation, health and security. However, the survey shows that occasional tithers experienced sickness: ESD (44.4%), NSD (54.3%), YSD (32.2%) and HSD (42.0%); financial difficulty: ESD (45.1%), NSD (78.3%), YSD (49.3%) and HSD (58.6%); and robbery: ESD (23.8%), NSD (16.0%), YSD (16.4%) and HSD (14.0%). Also, regular tithers avowed experiencing sickness: ESD (42.4%), NSD (77.9%), YSD (41.7%) and HSD (53.2%); financial difficulty: ESD (53.8%), NSD (95.4%), YSD (66.3%) and HSD (61.6%); and robbery: ESD (32.0%), NSD (27.7%), YSD (30.2%) and HSD (18.9%). Conversely, a good percentage of non-tithers claimed that they do not have such experiences in connection to defaulting in tithing; ESD (55.6%), NSD (66.7%), YSD (70.0%) and HSD (78.6%). The paper argues that a balanced teaching on material prosperity that does not give false hope and expectations to people should be re-emphasised among Christians generally and in UMCA specifically.