Stewardship Sunday

ARE WE ROBBING GOD?

Is it even possible to rob God?

            When I started working at Hull’s Family Bookstore in 1989, I was given a flat wage of 800 dollars a month. The staff worked from 9 to 5:30, Monday to Saturday, and some Friday evenings. Working at Hull’s did not require a huge amount of skill prior to being hired so I suppose the wage fit. In time, I received a raise to 900, then 1000 dollars a month.

            At the same time that I worked at Hull’s, I was the assistant pastor at Crestview Fellowship. They paid me 100 dollars a month as an honorarium for preaching once a month.

            Now as I understood tithing, giving ten percent of my income to the Lord (through the church), I faced a dilemma. I made 1000 dollars at Hull’s and received 100 dollars from Crestview. If I tithed, I might as well have signed over my honorarium back to the church, because that was basically my ten percent. I didn’t.

            Considering the paltry amount I made, plus the fact that I was serving the Lord, I justified exempting myself from giving to the church. Now when I look back, I realize, I was robbing God and the community of faith.

            When I married Sharon, God taught me through her example of generosity that giving can be a delight. Not only is it a joy to give to the church, but Sharon helped me to be a better tipper at restaurants, and to bless those outside of our church with support. Giving is a form of worship.

            Through the prophet Malachi, God accused Israel of robbing him. They were withholding their tithes and offerings from God and His temple. Now this might seem like a message on tithing. It’s not. I thought it would be a justification for giving ten percent, but I was mistaken. Malachi’s message to us goes to the heart of giving and the spiritual regression that is indicated by robbing God. Christians rob God when we fail to make kingdom-giving a priority.

1. One Symptom of Spiritual Regression: Robbing God

a) How regression occurs – Spiritual regression, as opposed to growth, is indicated by the stinginess of the people. This is one symptom of regression because, in fact, Malachi addresses seven symptoms. Malachi is one of the prophets who God calls to challenge the children of Israel in their spiritual devotion to the Lord.

            How did we get here? Malachi comes on the scene during the return to the land of Israel. The people had been in exile for 70 years in Persia and have now returned to rebuild the temple and the walls. Malachi’s message may sound like Ezra and Nehemiah’s messages. That’s because they were contemporaries. These prophets were dealing with a people who were out of touch with their faith heritage.

            Here’s the thing: the people in the land were poor. Their poverty became an excuse to withhold their tithes and offerings. When they sacrificed to the Lord they brought blemished lambs or crippled livestock. In their minds, they could not afford to give God their best. But what they were really saying was: we cannot trust the Lord to provide for us so we will worship Him with what we can afford. As a result, the quality of their worship symbolized their lack of trust and obedience. (According to standards published by the Federal government at the time, my parents earned a wage considered to be below the poverty line. Yet they maintained a model of consistency in giving to the church. Dad regularly wrote out a check and placed it in a numbered envelope for his regular tithe. It didn't matter how much money they earned; they were faithful.)

b) The act of Mugging God – Now the Lord takes exception to this treatment from His people. He says, “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me” (8a). The term “rob” is ludicrous when applied to God and man. It means “to mug,” to physically accost and steal something from someone. Think of someone like me trying to rob Ian. It’s a funny image. The people then ask, “How are we robbing you?” (8b), as if we could “take” from God. But God replies, “In tithes and offerings” (8c).

            Tithing has been the gold standard of Christian giving to the church for I don’t know how long. We base our teaching of the “tithe” on the OT practice, or so we say. Let’s look at the tithe in the OT.

            We first discover that Abraham gives the priest Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils from a raid on some bad dudes (Gen. 14:18-20). But this is a one-time event.

            Then Jacob promises the Lord a tithe after God promises to give him many descendents and this land. But Jacob makes this promise out of fear and not trust (Gen. 28:20-22). This is also a one-time event and we don’t know if Jacob ever fulfilled his promise.

            These events are both pre-Moses and the Law. The practice of tithing seems to be evident but not in terms of regular worship. When the Lord gives the Law through Moses we find that God request three tithes.

            The first tithe is a tithe of fruit, seeds, herds and flocks that is collected annually (Lev. 27:30-33). It could surpass 10% and become more like 20% depending on circumstances.

            The second tithe is a tithe dedicated to the Levites. Actually, all tithes are given to the Levites for their inheritance as the tribe that serves the Lord (Num. 18:21). This is their livelihood. And since priests come out of this tribe, Levites gives 10% of their 10% to the priests. In Malachi’s day, the Levites and priests were not getting their share and so had to farm, thus neglecting their priestly duties.

            The third tithe was a festival tithe (Deut. 14:22-29). Here, the giver is also a partaker. It was a national potluck occurring once every three years.

            If Christian giving is based on OT practice like we say, several things appear out of balance. If this practice is still binding today and Christians give a tenth of everything, do we bring a tenth of our tomatoes from our gardens to church? Does Ed bring a tenth of his milk quota to the Lord? If we followed the OT tithe as we say we do, then the tithe is actually supposed to be as little as 23 1/3% to 46% of our income.[i]

            Jesus mentions tithes in regard to the Pharisees, but only in reference to how they tithe while neglecting the greater parts of the law (Matt. 23:23). Paul makes no mention of tithes to the NT church, largely made up of Gentiles, who would surely need instruction on tithing.

            The point is this: Israel was forsaking their obedience and worship to the Lord and they were robbing God. Does this apply to the church today? Are we required to tithe? And if so, are we robbing God?

c) The Consequences of God-mugging – For Malachi’s people, there is a social-theological consequence to withholding the tithe. The priests and Levites are suffering and God’s honor is slighted. Can God take care of His people? Israel has not demonstrated confidence in the Lord. Worship suffers as a result since worship is based on acknowledging the reliability and faithfulness of God. If you say you trust God but cannot entrust Him with what is rightfully His anyways, how is this worship?

            The consequence of robbing God is a curse. The whole nation is cursed for robbing God (9). Locusts will descend on the land and they will see desolation. Their honor will be diminished among the nations and God’s name with it.

2. Curing our Spiritual Regression: Fiscal Repentance

a) Return to God – How do we reverse this course of spiritual regression and avoid personal and corporate catastrophe? “The answer is to tithe,” you might say. Give to God what is God’s. That’s good, but not what God initially wants. What does God say, “Return to me and I will return to you?” (7b).

            The first step in returning to God is to acknowledge our need for God. God does not say to return to keeping my law. The law is important. Sinning is breaking God’s law, but the root is always relational. For Malachi’s people, recognizing their loving Redeemer who brought them back to the land of promise was key to the renewal of their relationship with God. For the Christian, our obedience, our return to God, is compelled by our love for God who gave His Son for us.

            In response to so great a salvation as God has shown us, how does one respond? There are several responses, but one of the litmus tests of one’s understanding of being reconciled to God is giving. Jesus made this connection with Zaccheus, a wealthy tax collector. When Zaccheus invited Jesus into his home, he was overwhelmed by grace. He said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). His salvation touched his wallet. And Jesus replied, “Today salvation has come to this house…”

            The opposite pole finds us looking at the tragedy of the rich young ruler. He came looking for Jesus and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” If someone came to you and asked how they could become a follower of Jesus, what would you say? I would be blown away at so easy a conversion. But Jesus saw past the eager exterior. This particular man had a great love of money. So Jesus ignores the easy score and says, “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mk 10:21).

            Jesus doesn’t ask for a tithe; Jesus asks for our hearts. Ten percent can easily become an excuse to give what we have to and then claim the 90% for our own purposes. That is legalism.

b) Salvation expressed in Generosity – Malachi’s call to repentance involves the giving aspect of faith. To “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…” (10a) reaffirms that, even in the lean times, we can trust God to be faithful to His people. It reflects the generosity of God towards His people when His people show generosity. Bringing the tithe into the storehouse is, in plain language, sharing with those in need.

            Giving in the NT reflects this principle far better than the principle of tithing. Those who have been rescued from a life of sin and restored to a relationship with God are able to see the Kingdom needs far more acutely. Those who have experienced the grace of Christ are compelled to share that grace with others.

            Paul expressed this principle succinctly in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 (READ). The sowing and reaping lesson recalls Jesus’ challenge to store up our treasures in heaven. This is not a platitude, a feel-good quote to instill giving. Jesus means what he says – there is a great reward in heaven for those who invest in the kingdom now. That investment (time, money, resources) lands on people, not on things. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you…” and you will have all you need for living. This is an amazing promise if we have the courage to live it.

c) The “Blessing” Cycle – Through Malachi, the Lord offers the people a test. “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 enough room to store it” (10b). The test results of Israel’s faithfulness are threefold: God will open the heavens and pour down rain (floodgates of heaven); God will prevent the devourer from destroying crops (locusts); and God will not let the vines drop their fruit before it is ripe (abundant crops).

            This is what I call the “blessing cycle.” God blessed the people (brought them out of exile into the land) – the people bless God by being faithful givers – God responds by blessing them again with food and prosperity.

            The danger with this cycle comes when we try to apply this specific moment in time and this specific promise to Israel to ourselves. This is not prescriptive but descriptive prophecy. Prosperity churches will apply the cycle literally so that if you give – give – give, you will get-get-get.

            However, there is truth in the cycle that we cannot ignore. God has blessed us with so rich a salvation through Jesus Christ, His Son, that we should not be able to help ourselves in kingdom giving. And will there not be a real sense of the present-future blessing that comes from obediently giving to the Lord and His purposes?

Are we robbing God?

That’s something that you will have to decide for yourself. No one can judge your expenditures unless you ask them too. God will judge our hearts and measure our understanding of His grace according to His grace. He knows you better than anyone and what motivates you.

Was I robbing God when I worked at Hull’s?

Yes, I believe that I was quite wrong about my finances. But God was gracious and patient with me, allowing me to come to a better understanding of His blessings to me and my response of generosity. And though I have learned in leaps and bounds to trust Him, I certainly have room to grow in this trust and in my generosity.

What about the tithe?

I have always liked the principle of ten percent. It is a good standard for giving. But I cannot let it become an excuse to give what I owe and then spend the 90 without Kingdom ethics regarding money. I believe that once we reach the ten percent mark – giving first to the church – we have many areas to consider giving – missions, Siloam, UGM, Teen Challenge and the like.

The truth about robbing God is that we rob ourselves. We rob ourselves of the opportunity to be involved in what God is doing in His world. The Lord invites us to take part in His work.

                                                            AMEN

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[i] See “Will a Man Rob God?” by Andreas J. Kostenberger and David Croteau, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.