An envelope with money. (Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels)Am I robbing God? How?
Is there a time when you asked this question to yourself? It is pretty odd to ask ourselves if we are robbing something from God, especially when we keep doing good to others. Is it possible for a man to deny God?
The Word of God affirms it.
Malachi 3:8-9 says, “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you? “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse —your whole nation—because you are robbing me.”
In this blog, we will dig deeper into what God means when we say we are robbing Him and what we can do to be faithful to God.
How are we robbing God?
The Book of Malachi pertains to Israelites being charged with the offense of robbing God. His people had been faithless and broke their covenant with the Lord.
God said His people are robbing Him by not giving their tithes and offerings. He commanded us to bring the whole tithes and offerings to the temple or church, yet they do not.
Leviticus 27:30 says, “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.”
Thus, whenever we held back portions of the tithes and offerings for ourselves, we were breaking the law and robbing God by taking what belonged to God and using it for ourselves.
Are we still under the Old Testament Law?
There are many arguments regarding tithes that have no longer been applied since the New Testament.
Some scholars say that tithing was part of the Law of Moses that was finished when Jesus died on the cross.
Moreover, they based it on the New Testament, wherein Paul encouraged Corinth to give according to their hearts’ desire. (2 Corinthians 8:12). However, does giving according to our hearts’ desire mean we can give less than ten percent?
Ten percent is the standard
Forms of taxation. (Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels)“We are to take the tithe as a standard, but to go beyond the tithe as an indication of our gratefulness for God’s gifts to us.” – Billy Graham.
The ten percent belongs to the Lord, and if we are not giving that portion, then we rob God. Regardless of so many arguments, both the Old and New Testament teaches us to give to the Lord.
More so, God only asks for the ten percent, but since God has been so faithful to us, then we could cheerfully give more than what He asks for.
How not to rob God?
A woman using her laptop with dollar bills on her desk. (Photo by Tima Mishnichenko from Pexels)Now that we understand that, in some ways, we can take what belongs to God. Here are some ways to avoid it.
Set aside tithes first.
Disbursing our income to all our expenses, such as bills, utilities, grocery budget, and so on, before setting aside your tithes is challenging. More likely, nothing will be left for God.
You should set aside ten percent of your income before dividing the 90% for all your needs. Some might be worried that it would not be enough for all their expenses, but once you prioritize giving back the portion to God, you will be surprised at how God would sustain your 90% for everything.
Give cheerfully
God looks more than the amount, but what matters to Him is your heart when you give back your tithes and offerings. Do not just do it because God mandates it; do it because you love Him.
Our tithes are sacred, and when we do it out of complacency, it is worthless, and it is better not to give at all. It will not be a pleasing aroma to our Heavenly Father.
Trust and surrender
As we give ten percent of our income and our offering to God, then we should trust Him with all our hearts and surrender our lives to Him. God provides and will never leave nor forsake those carefully obeying His commands.
God is pleased when we present our tithes and offerings with our whole trust that He will work in our lives despite our struggles.
Do not be materialistic
One of the factors why it is hard for us to give back what is due to God is because the world influenced us to be materialistic. The Bible noted that we cannot serve two masters simultaneously.
We could either hate the one and love the other. (Matthew 6:24) It is difficult to give what is for God when we love our money more than He is.
Do not question where your tithes go
Another factor why Christians are having difficulties in giving their tithes is because they are skeptical about where it goes. Our responsibility is to provide our ten percent offerings in the house of God, not to question where it goes.
The church is already accountable for the tithes given by the people. They are responsible to God. As for you, as long as you did what God wants you to do, then it is not already your responsibility to question where it goes.
Giving our tithes and offerings to the church has not given us the authority to question God’s people and where it goes as long as you can see that it is being used to expand God’s ministry.
Pray consistently
It is difficult to give when you know you know you only have enough or maybe you are living paycheck to paycheck. Yet, God is always there to listen to our requests.
Pray that you can be faithful with the small things you have so that when God has given you more, you will be more faithful in giving your tithes and offerings.
Furthermore, pray for your heart to entrust what you have to the Lord. If God sees your desire to be faithful in giving back what is due to Him, He will bless you more.
Also, pray that God would give you the wisdom to be a good steward of His wealth. Besides, ask Him to provide you with the discipline in handling your finances.
Tithes is God’s way to bless you
U.S. dollar bills in a white envelope. (Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels)Never think you are losing a portion of what you have when you give the ten percent to the Lord. We do not owe anything we have, for everything belongs to God. Tithing is one of God’s ways to bless us.
It is the command that tells us to test God in this as He would open the windows of heaven and pour out overflowing blessings for us.
Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
Thus, we are gaining so much more than we could ever imagine if only we are faithful in giving our tithes and offerings.
More importantly, God is testing our faith in Him regarding our wealth. If we could honor the Lord with our wealth, He is more valuable than we possess here. We should not be stingy, for our Heavenly Father is always generous in meeting our needs.
Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about How are we robbing God?.
