There has been a lot of perspective surrounding tithing and its purpose or relevance in the 21st century. Whichever side of the debate you are on, understand this first; tithing is a covenant between you and God, so whenever you choose to give it, do so without looking over your shoulder.  No one should compel you by manipulating God’s word, not least because God loves a cheerful giver, but also because a covenant (tithing) is an agreement, an agreement is voluntarily entered into. God will never force you to give it, and he will not punish you for not giving it, any suggestion to the contrary is sheer deception to get you to part away with your money. Tithing is a primary expression of your discipline of stewardship, and as a believer you need to understand this is an obligation not a responsibility, although tithing has the effect of funding and looking after the church, this is why church leaders rely on it to run the church and they sometimes get too excited by placing a demand on you. But when you tithe, you are doing something God always cherish from his children, you are making him your first priority, trusting his abundance instead of worrying about not having enough.

Know this therefore, tithing is an act of faith based on divine principle that everything you have comes from God. So yes it is your right to refrain from giving it like some have suggested, and yes it is also true that some church leaders abuse their powers and spend church fund with impunity, if you are not happy with the church you attend, leave and move to where you feel gives you the biblical values you want to see demonstrated, but stopping your tithe altogether may not be in your own long term interest because you then withdraw from a covenant of perpetual abundance with God. The best analogy is that of a farmer, a farmer only reap what they sow, so a farmer who plants only a few seed or no seed at all will get a small or no crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. It is written, “whoever sow sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously, each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. So when your giving is influenced by soft threats, connotations, or other actions used to coerce you into giving against your will or better judgement, then you are only not giving cheerfully, you would have also given what you have not decided in your heart and that is even a more dangerous terrain than not giving at all.