Wei for Give wea Bringim Hapi
GENIVAL, wea stap long wanfala poor taon long northeast Brazil, hem saportim waef and pikinini bilong hem witim smol pei wea hem kasem from waka bilong hem olsem security long wanfala hospital. Nomata hem faendem hard, Genival givim tithe evritaem. Hem rabem bele bilong hem and sei: “Samfala taem mifala famili hangre nomoa, bat mi laek for givim God best bilong mi, nomata wanem sakrifaes mi need for duim.”
Bihaen hem lusim waka bilong hem, Genival go ahed for givim tithe. Minister encouragem hem for testim God long wei for givim bigfala donation. Datfala bigman bilong religion hem promis hao God bae barava blessim hem. So Genival disaed for sellim haos bilong hem and givim go selen long church.
Hem no Genival nomoa wea faithful tumas for give. Staka barava poor pipol faithful for givim tithe bikos church bilong olketa teachim hao tithe hem samting Bible talem for olketa mas duim. Waswe, diswan hem tru?
Wei for Givim Tithe and Law
Datfala komand for givim tithe hem part bilong Law wea Jehovah God givim long 12-fala tribe bilong Israel winim 3,500 year bifor. Datfala Law sei mek-ten part bilong evri kaikai from land and frut tree and evri mek-ten animal, olketa mas givim long tribe bilong Levi for saportim waka wea olketa duim long tabernacle.—Leviticus 27:30, 32; Numbers 18:21, 24.
Jehovah promisim olketa Israelite hao datfala law bae ‘no hard tumas for olketa.’ (Deuteronomy 30:11) Sapos olketa faithful for followim olketa komand bilong Jehovah, wea minim tu for givim tithe, hem promis olketa bae kasem bigfala harvest. And for protectim olketa, wantaem evri year olketa putim difren wanfala tithe wea olketa iusim long olketa taem Israel hipap for olketa festival. From diswan, olketa ‘stranger, boy wea no garem dadi, and widow woman’ savve satisfae.—Deuteronomy 14:28, 29; 28:1, 2, 11-14.
Law no talem eni panis for wei for no givim tithe, bat evri Israelite garem strong feeling bilong responsibility for saportim trufala worship long disfala wei. Long taem bilong Malachi, Jehovah sei olketa Israelite wea no givim tithe olketa ‘steal from hem saed long olketa tithe and offering.’ (Malachi 3:8, New International Version) Waswe, olketa Christian distaem wea no givim tithe guilty long diswan tu?
Well, tingim firstaem. Law bilong wanfala kantri planti taem hem for datfala kantri nomoa. Olsem example, law wea olketa draeva long Britain mas followim for draev long left saed bilong road hem no for olketa draeva long France. Long sem wei, law for givim tithe hem part bilong datfala covenant midolwan long God and nation bilong Israel nomoa. (Exodus 19:3-8; Psalm 147:19, 20) Olketa Israelite nomoa anda long datfala law.
And nomata hem tru hao God nating savve change, samfala taem samting wea hem expectim from iumi savve change. (Malachi 3:6) Bible talem stret hao sakrifaes bilong Jesus, long 33 C.E., hem “aotem,” or “finisim,” datfala Law and insaed diswan hem “komand for kolektem olketa tithe.”—Colossians 2:13, 14; Ephesians 2:13-15; Hebrews 7:5, 18.
Christian Wei for Give
Bat, trufala worship needim yet olketa contribution. Jesus komandim olketa disaepol bilong hem for ‘witness go kasem evri farawe ples long earth.’ (Acts 1:8) Wei wea namba bilong olketa wea biliv hem grow hem mekem need kamap for moa Christian teacher and overseer for visitim and strongim olketa kongregeson. Olketa widow woman, pikinini wea no garem dadi and mami, and olketa narawan wea garem need mas kasem help. Hao nao olketa first-century Christian kasem selen for duim diswan?
Long samting olsem 55 C.E., olketa Gentile Christian long Europe and Asia Minor kasem leta wea barava askem olketa for helpem olketa poor kongregeson long Judea. Insaed olketa leta bilong hem for olketa kongregeson long Corinth, aposol Paul storyim wei wea olketa arrangem datfala “kolekson for olketa holy wan.” (1 Corinthians 16:1) Maet iu sapraes long wanem toktok bilong Paul hem showimaot abaotem Christian wei for give.
Aposol Paul no forcem olketa brata bilong hem for give. Tru nao, olketa Christian long Macedonia wea “safa” and wea “poor tumas . . . go ahed for beg for disfala privilege for give witim kaenfala fasin and for share long ministry bilong olketa holy wan.”—2 Corinthians 8:1-4.
Hem tru, Paul encouragem olketa long Corinth wea moa rich for followim example bilong olketa kaenfala brata bilong olketa long Macedonia. Nomata olsem, wanfala buk abaotem Bible hem sei Paul ‘nating laek for orderim olketa, bat hem ask, givim idea, or encouragem olketa for give. Sapos Paul forcem olketa, bae olketa long Corinth no fit for give long kaenfala wei and witim feeling.’ Paul savve hao “God lovem man wea hapi for give,” no man wea give “from eniwan pushim or forcem hem.”—2 Corinthians 9:7.
Bigfala faith and savve wea join witim trufala love for olketa Christian brata hem muvim olketa long Corinth for give long kaenfala wei.—2 Corinthians 8:7, 8.
‘Wanem Hem Disaedem Long Heart Bilong Hemseleva’
Winim wei for talem stret wanfala amount or percent, Paul givim idea nomoa taem hem sei: “Long firstfala day bilong evri week, letem each wan . . . markem samfala selen wea fitim living bilong hem.” (Mifala mekem Italic; 1 Corinthians 16:2, NIV) Thru long wei for disaedem haomas selen olketa laek givim and for keepim separate, olketa long Corinth bae no give from samwan forcem olketa or feeling wea kamap taem olketa lukim Paul arrive. For each Christian, disison bilong haomas for givim hem saed bilong man seleva, disison wea ‘hem disaedem long heart bilong hemseleva.’—2 Corinthians 9:5, 7.
For harvestim staka samting, olketa long Corinth mas plantim staka samting tu. No enitaem Paul encouragem wei for give gogo iu safa. Paul talem olketa: ‘Mi no minim for hem hard long iufala.’ “Sapos man hem willing firstaem, God hem barava acceptim wanem man hem garem, and no wanem hem no garem.” (2 Corinthians 8:12, 13; 9:6) Bihaen, insaed wanfala leta bilong hem, aposol Paul talem disfala warning: “Sapos eniwan no provaed for olketa wea bilong hem . . . for famili bilong hem, hem lusim disfala faith and hem moa worse winim man wea no garem faith.” (1 Timothy 5:8) Paul nating encouragem wei for give wea go againstim disfala principle.
Hem important for tingim hao Paul hem arrangem wanfala “kolekson for olketa holy wan” wea garem need. No eniwea long Bible iumi readim hao Paul or eni nara aposol organizem kolekson or kasem tithe for saportim ministry bilong olketa seleva. (Acts 3:6) Paul barava tinghae long olketa present wea olketa kongregeson sendem long hem, bat hem careful for no kamap “hevi wea kost tumas” long olketa brata bilong hem.—1 Thessalonians 2:9; Philippians 4:15-18.
Willing Wei for Give Distaem
Hem klia, long first century olketa follower bilong Christ followim willing wei for give, no wei for givim tithe. Bat, maet iu ting, waswe, diswan still gudfala wei for peim kost bilong waka for preachim gud nius and for kea for olketa Christian wea garem need?
Tingim disfala example. Long 1879 olketa editor bilong disfala magasin talem klia hao olketa bae “nating beg or ask strong for saport from pipol.” Waswe, disfala disison hem stopem wei wea Olketa Jehovah’s Witness talemaot truth bilong Bible?
Distaem, olketa Witness givimaot olketa Bible, olketa Christian buk, and olketa nara pablikeson long 235 kantri. Wastaoa hem Bible education magasin wea firstaem olketa raetem long wanfala languis and olketa printim 6,000 copy each month. Distaem, olketa printim winim 24,000,000 copy, tufala taem insaed wan month, long 146 languis. For organizem Bible education waka wea olketa duim evriwea long world, olketa Witness buildim or garem olketa branch office long 110 kantri. And tu, olketa buildim staka thousand ples for olketa meeting and olketa bigfala assembly hall for provaedem ples for pipol wea interest for kasem moa instruction saed long Bible.
Olketa Jehovah’s Witness tinghevi long spiritual need bilong pipol, and olketa mek sure tu olketa brata bilong olketa garem material need bilong olketa. Taem olketa brata bilong olketa safa from war, earthquake, drae season, and cyclone, olketa kwiktaem provaedem medicine, kaikai, kaleko, and nara samting olketa needim. Selen for peim olketa samting hia kam from olketa donation wea olketa Christian wanwan and olketa kongregeson givim.
Willing wei for give hem win and hem aotem hevi from olketa wea poor olsem Genival, wea iumi storyim bifor. Gud samting nao, bifor hem sellim haos bilong hem, Genival kasem wanfala visit from Maria, wanfala full-taem minister bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness. Genival hem sei: “Datfala taem wea mifala story hem sevem famili bilong mi from staka trabol.”
Genival faendaot hao waka bilong Lord hem no depend long wei for givim tithe. Tru samting nao, wei for givim tithe hem no mark bilong Bible for distaem. Hem lanem hao olketa Christian kasem blessing taem olketa willing for give, bat Bible no sei olketa mas givim winim wanem olketa garem.
Willing wei for give hem mekem Genival kasem trufala hapi. Hem sei: “Maet mi givim or maet mi no givim 10 percent, bat mi hapi witim haomas mi givim, and mi sure Jehovah hem hapi tu.”
[Box/Olketa Piksa long page 6]
Waswe, Olketa Church Father Bifor Teachim Wei for Givim Tithe?
“Olketa rich wan long iumi helpem olketa wea poor . . . Olketa wea garem selen, and willing, givim haomas each wan ting hem fitim.”—The First Apology, Justin Martyr, c. 150 C.E.
“Hem tru, olketa Jew givim mek-ten part bilong olketa material samting bilong olketa long God, bat olketa Christian keepim separate evriting bilong olketa for waka bilong Lord, . . . olsem datfala poor widow hem duim wea givim evriting bilong hem insaed long contribution box long temple.”—Against Heresies, Irenaeus, c. 180 C.E.
“Nomata iumi garem olketa contribution box, hem no for man peim salvation, olsem religion wea markem haomas for givim. Sapos man laekem, evri month each wan savve givim lelebet donation; bat only sapos hem hapi for duim, and only sapos hem savve duim: from no eniwan forcem hem; evriting hem willing wei for give nomoa.”—Apology, Tertullian, c. 197 C.E.
“Taem Church kamap moa big and olketa difren organization start, need kamap for olketa garem olketa law wea mek sure olketa bigman bilong religion kasem saport olowe. Olketa tekem wei for peim tithe from datfala Law Bilong Moses . . . Firstfala law saed long diswan hem insaed wanfala leta from olketa bishop wea hipap long Tours long 567 C.E. and [olketa disision] bilong Council of Macon long 585 C.E.”—The Catholic Encyclopedia.
[Credit Line]
Coin, left saed antap: Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.
[Piksa long page 4, 5]
Willing wei for give mekem man kasem hapi
[Olketa Piksa long page 7]
Donation wea pipol willing for givim nao peim kost bilong preaching waka, emergency relief, and construction bilong olketa ples for meeting