OceanSide church of Christ

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WILL A MAN ROB GOD?

Victor M. Eskew

 

            The question that titles this article is very thought provoking.  “Will a man rob God?”  One thought that comes to mind is this:  “Can a man rob God?”  God resides in heaven.  God and all things associated with Him are invisible to man.  How, then, can a man rob God? 

            As we think about this topic in more detail, we need to be reminded of two things.  First, God is the owner of all things on the earth.  It is He who created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is (Exo. 20:11).  David put it this way in Psalm 24:1.  “The earth is the Lord’s and fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”  In Psalm 50:10-11, we read:  “For every beast of the field is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.  I know all the fowls of the mountains:  and the wild beasts of the field are mine.”

            Second, we need to be reminded that we are just the stewards of all things that are on the earth and that are in our possession.  Nothing we have truly belongs to us.  Everything we own belongs to God.  He has entrusted all we have into our care while we are living upon the earth.  How do we know this?  We know it because we brought nothing into this world, and we will carry nothing out of this world (I Tim. 6:7).  Since God owns all, and we are just stewards of the things we have, if God asks for something that it in our possession, we are obligated to give it to Him.  It is His.  It is not ours.

            God has blessed many of us with great wealth.  He has also instructed us as to how we are to use our wealth.  First, we are to provide for our own.  “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (I Tim. 5:8).  Second, we are to give liberally to the Lord’s cause.  The first day of the week has been set aside in order to have an orderly collection of funds by the church.  “Now concerning the collection of the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.  Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come” (I Cor. 16:1-2).  God also wants us to use our funds to help others when the opportunity arises.  “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:1).  In Ephesians 4:28, Paul notes that this is one of the reasons that we labor with our hands.  “Let him that stole steal no more:  but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”

            Now we can bring the title of our lesson into focus.  If God asks us to give, and we refuse to do so, then we are robbing God.  In the days of the prophet Malachi, the Jews were rebuked for this transgression. Listen to the man of God:  “Will a man rob God?  Yet ye have robbed me.  But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?  In tithes and offerings.” (Mal. 3:8).  Israel was robbing God by failing to give as they should.  They did not give at all.  If they did give, they gave less than the required ten percent.  They did not bring their sacrifices.  If they did sacrifice, they gave God the lame, the diseased, the spotted, and the frail.  Yes, Israel was robbing God of that which was rightfully His. 

            Is it possible for us to rob God today?  Sure!  When we fail to give, we rob God.  We are not referring to that Sunday when a person forgets his check and puts it in the following week.  We are talking about those who have been prospered, but have not given to God week after week after week.  When we give God the leftovers, we are robbing God.  We are not giving Him the best.  We are giving Him our pennies.  When we fail to give liberally, we are robbing God.  There are some who pay more for their Sunday meal than they give to God.  Others give God a couple of dollars because after service they have to run by the store to pay their credit card which is almost overdue.  Just the interest they paid on the card was more than they put in the collection plate.  

            Robbing God is easy because we can justify our actions.  We need the money for other things that are vitally important.  Robbing God is easy because no one knows how much we give.  Robbing God is easy because the work of the church seems to be doing just fine without our generous contribution.  Robbing God is easy because we were sick, or shut-in, or on vacation. 

            God knows when He has been robbed.  Listen again to the words of Malachi:  “Will a man rob God?  Yet ye have robbed me.”  God knows how much we make.   God knows how much we give.  God knows the percentage that we give.  God knows about the money we waste.  God knows how much we spend on ourselves.  God knows our financial situation at home.  God knows all of our excuses and justifications to keep our money.  God knows our heart as we give.  God knows if we are liberal or greedy.  When it comes to our giving, God knows.  If we rob God, He knows.

            When Israel robbed God, God issued a challenge to them.  God said:  “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10).  God told Israel, if you will give, I will pour out abundant blessings upon you.  It was a challenge.  He said:  “Prove me now.”  God told Israel:  “If you give, you will have abundantly.”  That seems impossible.  How do you give and have abundantly?  Giving is an act of faith.  It displays an individual’s dependence upon God to provide for him.  This is why Jesus was so impressed with the poor widow who cast in her two mites into the treasury (Mark 12:41-44).  She cast in all her living, Jesus said.  She trusted God to take care of her.  She was reliant upon Him.  Her dependency and trust impressed the Son of God.  God asks us to test Him.  He asks us to trust Him.  Give, and I will provide for you.

            Dear reader, will you manifest your faith in God by giving abundantly that which is really God’s anyway?  Or, will you refuse to give as you ought and be guilty of robbing God?  To those who choose the second option, they need to hear the prophet’s words.  “Ye are cursed with a curse:  for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation” (Mal. 3:9).