How To Share Offerings

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By
The Man Who Saw God Face To Face
Raphael Okechukwu Nweze

Be Generous In Distributing To All
         A man of God once asked me a question, saying, “Why is it that in most of the churches and ministries, you discover that one person is very rich, while other ministers are very poor and wretched?” the rich person is usually the head or leader. He then gave me an example of a ministry, where the religious leader had four jeeps, but other ministers of God working in the same ministry were very poor.
         “The problem with many churches and ministries,” I answered him, “arises from the method of distribution of offerings. The offerings include tithes, seeds, general collections, dues and levies, gifts, harvests, first fruits, etc.”
         “In most cases, the head takes all these things without giving a reasonable portion to other ministers of God working with him. In such a situation, the head appears to the members as if he is the only person favoured by God. This problem is man-made, and contrary to what God expects from the leaders.
         “Resources accruing to a church or ministry should be so distributed that nobody becomes excessively provided for, while others are in lack of essentials things of life. Religious leaders should always distribute materials equally to all ministers, even to the needy members. Doing so would only make God to open the windows of heaven and rain down blessings to both ministers and the members.”

Do Not Sell Holy Offerings
         At times, ministers, in favourable positions or places, take offering materials to market to sell. This is wrong, because whatever that has been presented before God is holy and should not be given to unholy people. Such offering materials are not for sale, for money does not exist in the heavens, and you cannot worship God and money, neither can you convert earthly money directly into heavenly treasures.

The Holiness Of The Offerings
         Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they do not profane My holy name by what they dedicate to Me: I am the LORD. 3 Say to them: 'Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the LORD.

4'Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be — 6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he washes his body with water. 7 And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because it is his food. 8 Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the LORD.

9'They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the LORD sanctify them.

10'No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. 11 But if the priest buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. 12 If the priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings. 13 But if the priest's daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father's house as in her youth, she may eat her father's food; but no outsider shall eat it.

14'And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. 15 They shall not profane the holy offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the LORD, 16 or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the LORD sanctify them.'" Leviticus 22:1-16

Guidelines
         After the collection of all offering materials, the reverend ministers should:
  1. Set apart those items that are needed for service and worship of God. These materials shall be reserved, safe-kept, in a room or warehouse, for use in the house of God when necessary.
  2. The ministers shall take those materials they need for the personal upkeep or work in the ministry.
  3. The remaining materials shall be given to members who are in need of such materials.
  4. The remaining items shall be safe-kept for future uses, for what is not needed today may be needed tomorrow.
Provide For Necessity
         Besides, a member who has stayed in his house without eating in the morning and afternoon, can come to the ministry in the evening, to eat. If you were to examine your church members on the day of worship, you would be surprised to discover that some of them have not eaten anything yesterday. The same people did not eat food the day before yesterday. Even the food they shall eat today after worship is not available at home. That is why Jesus did not hesitate to feed multitudes that thronged after him, even when there is little food available.