Nigerian media personality Toke Makinwa has explained why she no longer pays her tithe to churches.
The businesswoman reportedly stated that she made her choice after giving careful thought to how money should be used to benefit others. It was earlier reported that the entrepreneur said her decision came after deep personal reflection about how money should be used to help people.
She revealed that her opinions on tithing have evolved in an interview with Chude.
She claims that she began to wonder how churches manage to raise such large sums of money while many of their members still struggle to meet their basic needs, such as daily food, rent, and medical bills.
She talked about what she called “post-traumatic church syndrome”, a condition in which people’s experiences in places of worship cause them to feel emotionally and spiritually wounded.
She claimed that this forced her to examine the financial management and operations of religious organisations carefully.
According to Makinwa, she began to question why she should contribute to well-funded church structures when there are people in dire need of assistance.
She clarified that rather than depositing funds into a church account, she now prefers to help the person directly if they seek her help with an urgent issue.
The single mother disclosed that she previously gave her church a full brand endorsement deal without keeping any of the money.
According to her, this occurred roughly seven years ago when she thought that doing so would result in financial benefits. But over time, she made a different decision.
She claims that she now focuses her donations on hospitals, maternity units, widows, and random people who have similar needs to her own.
She believes that although many pastors are wealthy and churches have already been constructed, some people still lack the funds for basic living expenses and medical care.
According to Makinwa, giving ought to be motivated by one’s own beliefs rather than customs or peer pressure.
She urged people to consider carefully how they help others and to concentrate on helping in situations where the difference in someone’s life is evident.
“I started thinking if I have money and someone tells me they need it to pay rent, why should I pass it into a block that is already rich?” she stated. If a stranger tells me what they really need, I would rather give them my tithe. The church is constructed. The pastors are wealthy. Let’s assist those that the church is unable to reach. I carried all of the money from an endorsement deal into the church seven years ago without touching a single naira. I now donate when it directly benefits a person in need. Giving ought to be motivated by one’s own beliefs.
