Last week, as usual, the Ghanaian social and traditional media space buzzed with commentaries. A spectacular scene between a church member and her minister at the Methodist Church Ghana, Wesley Cathedral in Sunyani, Bono Region, was the subject that intrigued Ghanaians.
Opinions were shared, interviews granted, and eventually a press statement was issued. The frenzy ensued after Very Rev. Dr. Solomon Bruce gave a Bible teaching on tithing. It is said that the teachings happened on February 1, 2026. It was, however, not until April 2026 that portions of the Bible teachings popped up on TikTok, sparking “fire” and going viral on other social media platforms.
Snippets of Very Rev. Solomon’s teachings indicate that he tried to convey the passage on tithings in Malacai 3 to his congregants. He stressed and emphasized on verse 8 which says, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings” (KJV). He encouraged his church members to endeavour to pay their tithes so not ending up robbing God, explaining the types of thieveries—stealing, burglary and robing—in detail.
When it was time for questions and answers, a church member—who has now earned the title of a ‘brave” woman in the Ghanian discourse—grabbed the microphone. She had something to say about the “robbery” tag the Bible associates with non-payment of tithes. Her response, however, was explosive and lethal than the missiles the United States, Israel, and Iran have hurled at themselves in the past weeks.
“You said whoever takes or withhold the tithe is an armed robber. If we are talking about armed robbing, it starts from you, the bishops, elders, and the leadership of the church; you are all robbers,” adding that “serious[ly], you are robbers.” The ‘brave’ woman did not end there. She still had a barrage of missiles to fire and would not hand over the microphone until her mission was accomplished.
“You said that if one does not pay tithe and the non-tither’s mother or any of his or her immediate relatives dies, you [the church] will not attend the funeral. You did not read in the Bible that we should use tithe to pay for funeral donations,” she fumed. The disgruntled woman was, to a large extent, right in her submission. Equally, Very Rev. Solomon Bruce exhibited professionalism as he refrained from confrontations apart from telling her to give others the chance to speak too.
Per the interactions in the social media videos, I see two worrying concerns in the Methodist Church which reflects in many other churches in the country. First, a potential attempt by the church to twist the Bible to suit its narratives and, second, a seeming ignorance in the Word of God on the part of some church members.
Before I proceed to tell you more, I wish to, first, tell you that I was born into the Methodist Church until I left it in my teens. My parents were both members at the Ebenezer Methodist Church, Penkwase in Sunyani. I have nothing against the Church. Growing up, I observed that my mother—who was part of the Church’s Women’s Fellowship—preoccupied herself with one main thing as the main reason for going to church. Though she knew the Lord, practiced food charity on her own volition, I gleaned from my mother’s conversations that she was particular about her church burying her after her death.
The trending video of the disgruntled woman and the Very Rev. Solomon’s Bible teaching linking tithing to funeral attendance makes me think that perhaps, the Methodist Church has for years focused its attention on funerals rather than the soon coming of our Lord Jesus.
As a Christian, I very much believe in tithing. Sometime in 2020 when Ghana was on lockdown following the Covid-19 pandemic, my church announced on its WhatsApp group that we could pay our tithes either online or in person. I had saved about three to four months of my tithes and I felt that tithes should be paid in-person. I went to the church one afternoon when the treasury department had open and made the payment. Just when I stepped out of the church, an elder followed and called me.
“I am surprised a young man like you could saved his tithes and waited for the opportunity to pay it without spending the money,” he said. I responded that that money was for God. Though I needed cash badly, at the time, I had no appetite to spend such money which I knew was technically not mine.
In Malacai 3:10, God declares the objective for tithing thus: That “there may be meat [food] in my house.” If I do not pay my tithe, how do I expect the church to run its affairs specifically remunerating the clergy? The truth is that, while tithing only does one thing in the house of the Lord, it brings us numerous blessings. The last time I counted such blessings, I got eight. If one pays their tithe and stays upright in the Lord, these blessings overflow.
While Very Rev. Solomon Bruce hammered on tithing, I wonder if he as well clarified that the clergy is also obliged to pay tithe of the tithe they receive. “Thus speak unto the Levites, and unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the Lord, even as a tenth part of the tithe” (Numbers 18: 26, KJV). The bottom line is that tithing is good and it applies to all whether the congregants or the clergy.
The second worrying concern I have, as reflected in the ‘brave’ woman’s submission, is that majority of believers have not read the Bible before. We are often ignorant of the Scriptures, relying mostly on our pastors to read and quote it to us. The ‘brave’ woman said she could pay a substantial tithe but that she would rather only bring a half of it to the church. The Bible tells us to bring “all the tithe into the storehouse.” If your tithe is GHC100 but you decide to pay GHC50, you had better not return it. It is an exercise in futility as one gains no blessings!
Christians must endeavour to rigorously study their Bible to understand the God they serve. If I were to give my judgment on the tithing brouhaha, I would say the ‘brave’ woman was right but for her attack on an ordained Man of God. If David refused to attack or kill King Saul, it was for a reason—the anointing.
The church, in general, must not turn the house of the Lord into funeral homes where members needlessly calculate how much they will make in donations when their mother or father dies and how they themselves will be buried after they die. Either ten people or a thousand attending one’s funeral, and the amount of donations they make, does not determine whether the deceased will have a peaceful rest in Paradise or perpetual torment in hell.
Congregants, instead, must constantly be preached repentance and the second coming of Jesus for there is, indeed, judgment after death!
By Solomon Mensah
The writer is a freelance journalist and an International Affairs Analyst. The views expressed herein are solely his, and do not, in any way, reflect the editorial policy of this organisation.
Email: nehusthan4@yahoo.com
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