The question of whether we have stolen from God almost sounds ridiculous--yet my guess is that most of us do REGULARLY!
Two of the main ways we steal from God is with our time and with our money; in this blog I want to briefly comment on the latter.
"Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me. But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In your tithes and contributions." (Malachi 3:8, italics added)
The background to this statement is that the people of God were no longer giving their best to God, and they were giving and worshiping simply out of duty rather than with joy and thanksgiving. In Malachi 1:13 it even says that the people said "what weariness this is" in regards to the offerings they made to God.
There are a couple things we need to understand if we are to grasp what God is saying to us in Malachi:
1) God has ALWAYS expected His people to give back to him the firstfruits (the best) of all they have. The reason for this is to acknowledge that ALL we have is from God, and apart from Him we have nothing.
This is why in Malachi it says that to NOT give God the best is to actually STEAL from God!
I have heard countless excuses as to why people who follow Jesus don't give their money back to God...many of which from a worldly stand-point seem wise. Take for example one I hear the most:
I don't tithe (give money) because I don't make enough or have enough yet. (often followed by--I'll tithe when I get my finances in order)
As I said--from a worldly perspective this sounds wise; however from the perspective that all we have comes from God, this simply shows a selfish mistrust of God. It's basically saying: "I don't really trust that God will provide for my needs financially."
Which leads to the second thing we need to understand in order to grasp what Malachi is getting at:
2) God desires to BLESS his people when they obey. But in Scripture whenever God offers a blessing, there is also a curse. Which one we receive depends on whether we obey or disobey; and on the attitude of our heart.
We should not be surprised that God expects that we obey Him! We also should not be surprised that there are detrimental consequences when we disobey His commands. ("you are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me!" Mal 3:9) Would it be right, just and loving of God to simply overlook the fact that His people STEAL from Him? No.
What we need to see is how seriously God desires ALL of us--this includes our time, resources and money. He has provided simple instructions for us so that we would practically trust Him with our time and resources by commanding Sabbath Rest & Tithing/Giving. I would argue that there are no more practical ways of displaying that you Trust God than through these two things. The amazing thing is that God PROMISES to BLESS those who trust and obey him with thankful hearts in the areas of their time and resources.
Malachi continues and says that if we give the "full tithe" that God will open the windows of heaven and pour down blessing until there is no more need!!! (Mal 3:10)
This verse which has often been taken out of context and abused is NOT about manipulating God into giving you tons of money! It is all about TRUSTING God and WORSHIPING with a pure and thankful heart!
As a follower of Christ, you can STEAL from God or you can thankfully give to Him the best of what He has provided for you. His promise is either a curse or a blessing. If we trust ourselves rather than God it will always be a curse, but when we Trust God we will always be a people greatly blessed!
Ps. If you are a follower of Jesus, this blog is NOT meant to guilt or shame you into giving--for to do so out of guilt or shame would be of no use-- as we see in Malachi. My hope is that we would all be a people who learn to continually Trust God more and worship Him with the practical things of life. My hope and prayer is that you will be one greatly blessed by God as you let go of the things that the world says you need to cling to, and instead cling to Jesus and trust Him!
