A fast-rising teaching in the church, prevalent mainly in the Charismatic movement, is the one of first-fruit offering and as with any issue involving giving money in the name of religion, it is increasingly becoming controversial.
While in the more traditional churches, this offering is marked with farm produce, in the latter versions of the teaching the practice is tethered on financial income, with some faithful donating their entire January salaries to the church as first-fruit offering.
Journalist-turned-gender-advocate Lizzy Yogo says that she gives her church all her earnings for the first month of the year. “I usually do this annually. My first salary of the year usually goes to the church as my first fruit.”
Matthew Tuikong, a retiree, says that he was a member of the Mavuno Church and the practice is well entrenched there. He explains that the church introduced the idea when they were building their new Complex in Athi River and it has since become a tradition.
While agreeing that the offering is biblical, Rev Tony Kiama of the River of God Church, a Kenya Assemblies of God affiliated congregation, is pained that some of his fellow ministers have twisted the original prescription given by God, adding that they have turned ‘ministry into industry.
Rev Kiama argues his case from the book of Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
He says that it would be foolhardy to expect a farmer who has harvested 10 bags of maize to give it all to his church. “It is only tithe that the standard is set at 10 per cent. First fruit offerings are part of free will offerings and one gives what he has decided in his heart to give freely,” Rev Kiama says.
“If your cow has calved, you are free to give the calf as an offering but you will still remain with the cow and the milk. So also with a farmer who harvests and gives a portion of the produce as first-fruit offering,” he explains.
An man carries offering baskets at PCEA Ruaraka Church in Kiambu County after a Sunday service.
Photo credit: File| Nation Media Group
An entrepreneur, Nasipwony Wamatakala, supports this view.
“It's scriptural though some people misuse it to extort unsuspecting congregants. Now that is thuggery,” she says.
Ninyo Odimiji is a Nigerian medical doctor and an active commentator on contemporary Christian issues. He is opposed to the current trend where people give all their first pay to the church.
“God hasn't sent anyone to collect your January salary from you. First fruit offering is not Rhema (which refers to the spoken Word of God). It is Ecclesiastical robbery,” he says.
Ms Yogo is convinced that giving her first fruit to the church has its benefits. She says she automatically gives her January salary, leaving the rest to God to sort out.
“I can equate it to paying my taxes to the Kenya Revenue Authority. I just know that come January I have no income and I have never lacked because I gave the first fruit. It all boils down to one’s faith and if you are a Christian remember the scripture that tells us that the just shall live by faith,” she says.
Rev Edward Ondachi explains that first fruits is an Old Testament practice also called the Feast of Weeks and that it was primarily an acknowledgment of God as the supreme provider for the whole nation since everything belonged to God.
“It should be noted that Israel was the only Theocracy in the world with Almighty God as the nation’s leader. The same practice is today to be seen as honourable and out of freewill for believers. Not something done out of compulsion since God loves a cheerful giver as we see in 2 Corinthians 9:7,” he says.
He adds that the practice of compelling believers to give a full salary at the beginning of January is practiced in some churches in Kenya.
“Giving is a blessing especially when it is voluntary and those who have given even full salaries out of honour have been greatly blessed by God as proverbs 3:6 teaches.”
The preacher-turned-publisher, however, says that when it is done as a church requirement it fails to be honourable and out of free will as the Bible insists and can lead to financial abuse by church leaders and loss of faith for members of the congregations.
Veteran journalist Stephen Muiruri feels that the issue runs deeper than just giving one’s premier income or harvest for the New Year.
He sees manipulation on the part of the church leaders and a gullible congregation ready to be conned.
“Africa will continue lagging behind because Christians are mentally enslaved by their clergymen. I go to church but I don't subscribe to what I find nonsensical especially giving money blindly,” Mr Muiruri says.
Prof Vincent Okoth Ongore who teaches public finance at the Technical University of Kenya and is a staunch Catholic, says that the first fruits offering can work wonders if channelled to the biological father.
“God is our father in heaven and we have our earthly fathers who begat us. If you take your first fruit to your father, it is obvious that blessings will follow you all of your days. Your father can then pray for you and ask for God’s presence in your life,” he says.
The professor adds that “in many cases you will find that the Father is not even interested in the whole amount you will give him. Out of Sh10,000 he may just take Sh1,000 and give you back the rest.
That Sh1,000 will serve as a token of your appreciation to your father and he will bless you for that,”
Rev Kiama says that fixing the amount one must give as a first fruits offering is not in line with what the bible recommends.
As usual in such matters, the jury is still out on whether the faithful need to give first fruits offering to the church or not. On the one hand, those supporting will stand firm in their belief, with scriptures thrown into the mix to buttress their argument.
On the other hand, those opposed to the practice will also cite paragraph after paragraph of biblical passages offering a back up to their stated position.
