Black tax is a term that originated in South Africa for money that Black workers, especially professionals and others with higher income than, give their parents, siblings, or other family members, often out of obligation or a deeply ingrained sense of family responsibility. 1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. First fruits is a biblical principle. 2 Chronicles 31:5 As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. And when you give, you need to give the very best. Genesis 4:3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. You can’t compete with someone who pays their tithes diligently. Malachi 3:10 “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” When you give a portion of your money to God, all your finances are sanctified Romans 11:16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. Won’t he do it beloved? Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it. I have a theory about why you aren’t seeing the benefits of you tithing. In Exodus 11:5–6, God declared through Moses, “Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.” At the square root of all 3 of these financial principles lies the common denominator of giving. Deutoronomy 14: 28 “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do. There are repercussions to squandering the blessings for your selfish needs. Jeremiah 2:3 Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them,” declares the Lord. Where have you been stingy? To whom have you not been faithful in giving? PRODUCER: Simukai Whande

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