Robbing Yourself

Robbing Yourself 
August 6, 2012
Malachi 3:8  "'Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?' 'In tithes and offerings.'"


The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.  This principle is found in Psalm 24:1.  King David declared that everything in the world belongs to God.  It is His, all of it.  We like to think that our money is ours, but it's not.  We like to think that our time is ours, but it's not.  We like to think that our possessions are ours, but they are not.  All of these things are the Lord's, even the items titled in your name.  This might frustrate you if you've work hard to obtain anything in life, but you have only toiled because the Lord allowed you to work hard--for Him.  While the Lord is not a tyrannizer in His dealings with us, He wants us to understand and have the right perspective on "things."


The Children of God were not bringing their tithes and special offerings to the house of the Lord and God said they were stealing from Him.  He said the tenth and the offerings belonged to Him, and the Israelites could hang on to the rest.  He said they were robbing Him.  It was His, not theirs to keep.  These tithes and offerings were technically stolen money if bound by their own purse strings.  When you have stolen goods in your home, the police have the right to take those stolen goods away and then prosecute you for thievery.  The Lord has the same principles in His kingdom with His stolen money.  If you steal from the Lord, He WILL prosecute you.  But the contrary is true as well.  The Lord said if you bring your tithes and offerings to the church, then He will honor you by pouring out blessings upon you.  It is interesting that the Lord would want to bless us for doing our duty, but He does.


Now consider this argument for a moment.  If we do not bring our tithe to the Lord, then we are stealing from Him.  But if we bring our tithe to the Lord, then he will pour out blessings upon us.  So, it would stand to reason that if we do not bring our tithes and offerings to the Lord, then we are robbing ourselves of our own blessing.  Why in the world would I want to keep the Lord's blessings away from my life?  Anything He has to give will be far better than anything I could ever work for.  When we get to Heaven, I'm sure we will be frustrated to see the blessings the Lord wanted to give to us while we were on this earth but our actions would not allow it.  I'm embarrassed to think of all the things I could have had from the Lord yet failed to receive because of my actions.


But this doesn't apply to just our finances, it applies to our time and other possessions as well.  If the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, then it is all fair game for Him to use if He needs it--to help those who are, for whatever reason, helpless.  If you've ever tallied up all that you've given to the Lord and considered what you could have if you kept it, I would suggest to you that you could have NOTHING as an option in return, even salvation.  You've already received salvation from your sins and from eternity in Hell, what more do you and I actually deserve?  It is an honor to give back to the Lord that which is already His, even if He never rewards us with an extra blessing.  Check your house; you might have some stolen items in there.  Look in your wallet first.


Don't take my word for it; look it up: Psalm 24:1, Mal 3, Luke 6:38