GIVING: The biggest Crook In the World!

"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings."

Malachi 3:8

Who is the biggest meanest crook in the world? Is it a terrorist? An abortionist? Is it a Los Angeles gang-banger? A Mafioso? A scammer? Some one who preys on seniors?

Robert Sumner said, “the biggest & meanest crook of all time is the one who steals from God.” [Excerpt from Sword of the Lord; 1960]

I agree with Sumner: those who steal from God must believe God doesn’t know or cannot see what they are doing. It’s like one convict stealing from his cellmate during a lockdown.

They’re like the tenant farmer who was to pay the land owner 10% of his harvest … but no matter how he planted, every harvest was only 90%.

I recall one couple who decided to drive out an unpopular pastor by recruiting fellow church members to withhold tithes. Not only did they fail to drive the pastor out but they brought shame and reproach upon the Body of Christ and the Name of the Lord as the community witnessed the brouhaha which followed.

I read of one lady who told her pastor she’d start tithing as soon as things got better. He looked her straight in the eyes and said, “No, Pearl, you won’t.”

“I beg your pardon!” She bellowed! To which he patiently replied, “If you won’t give $10 out of a hundred, you’ll never give $100 out of a thousand.”

The widow who tithes $540 out of her fixed income, then lives on the $4,860 remainder, is to be much more admired than the businessman who tithes $10,000 out of his income, then lives on the $90,000 left over.

I’m left in breathless wonder at those who claim the blood of the Lamb yet steal from The Great Shepherd of the Sheep.

Christianity, Giving, Illustrations, Religion

CONSECRATION - AKA: spiritual surrender!

SOWING ROTTEN SEED! [Matthew 13:1-23; Consecration, Giving, Nature (old vs. new), Surrender]

If at one of our church potlucks the cooks decided to serve us leftovers, how would we feel?

Say they prepared a scrumptious feast but instead of serving it to us they set the best aside for themselves and served us what was left?

Say the pastor’s wife took the new sack of potatoes home for her family, then mashed the old spuds under the sink, the ones with the mold, for the guests?

In far too many ways the church is treating God in much the same way? How often do we set aside the best for ourselves and give God what’s left over?

Oh some will say, “I always write my tithe check first.” But let’s ask them, “What about your service to the Lord? Do you serve Him first before you serve others or yourself?” Let’s ask them, “What about your talents? Does He get the best of your ability and your intellect?

The Church must remember the main point of the “widow’s mite”? Recall that the Lord’s focus wasn’t the amount which was given, it was the heart attitude before, during, and after the act.

Giving

THANKS FOR COMING – THAT’LL BE $117.50! [Exodus 25:1, 2; other topics - Heart-health; Law -vs- Spirit; Sanctification; Tithing]

Church leaders who are frustrated with members who won’t tithe may take notice of this story.

A synagogue in New Jersey is suing some members for back dues. One member who settled out of court this week says the entire matter is “morally and ethically wrong.” According to CNSNews, when joining, members signed a contract for goods and services in the form of annual dues which cover synagogue expenses. In the mid-90s, a court ruled a synagogue is free to sue its members for non-payment of dues; but cases like this are apparently extremely rare. [Excerpted from www.agapepress.org, December 2000]

Thank goodness it’s rare … perhaps it should be extinct? If I’m not mistaken the Old Testament, like the New Testament, teaches the righteous man lives by faith [Habakkuk 2:4] not by dues … and “gives” out of the heart, not from coercion.

Paul teaches payments are like wages; are we to now believe worship of Jehovah includes the delivery of goods and services for which His people must pay?Would someone call the Commerce Department and see if we can get the latest GSP (Gross Spiritual Product)?

TSUNAMI GIVING

I've been watching the mad race to one up each other with reports on tsunami giving. Haven't we learned by now that it's not the size of the gift but the motive behind it that really matters? Evidently not!

One sixth-grader's gift-giving motives came into question this past year. The AP reported on this recently .

It seems a middle school teacher in South Carolina discovered, during a parent-teacher conference, that the cubic zirconia necklace given to her by the parent's son was actually a one-carat diamond necklace the sixth-grader had pilfered from his mother's jewelry box. The boy probably was suffering from puppy-love and, though the end didn't justify the means, his intentions were probably genuine.

We don't need to be questioning one another over the amounts we've given to assist in the relief of the suffering ... if the motives are genuine.

One benefit of the national and international brinkmanship is that it's driving up the totals.