Scripture Read: Malachi 1:1-4:6
Focus Passage: Malachi 3:8-12
Date: 11/24/10 – 9:28am
8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. 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 room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
Journal Entry:
This is the passage which I usually camp out on when I read Malachi: God’s declaration and attitude toward those who trust Him with their tithes and offerings. I can’t necessarily say that I’ve trusted the Lord in this area lately. Despite having a new job and starting to make a lot of money, I’m holding back in some of my giving and I wonder why.
This new job has become a source of hope in many ways and has encouraged me to get really serious about paying off my debts in the next 2-3 years. The rising cost of living in the US isn’t helping anything either as life here just seems to be getting more and more expensive. So when I read this section of Malachi and think about my tithing habits, it begins feeling like one of those situations where you say, “well, this has to be the exception…”
I wonder sometimes whether my debt or life situation is an exception or not. Isn’t the Bible supposed to illustrate timeless principles from which we can learn how to honor God while adapting its precepts to our modern-day situations? Why is there nothing about what is required of me when I have mountains of debt and I’m trying to get out from under it so that I can pursue full-time ministry?
Thinking about this for a second leads me to the conclusion that I might not be asking the right question. What Scripture tells us is that God doesn’t look at the nominal value of what we tithe, but He looks at the real value. For example, If we have a lot but give only sparingly, what gift is that to Him? He cares to see whether or not we are making sacrifices to honor Him and show our appreciation for all He’s given us. If we don’t have very much to give, He is still looking for the same type of sacrifice. What exactly that looks like in each situation isn’t always easy to figure out. Perhaps it is sacrifices of time or skill for the benefit of a brother/sister in Christ. Maybe it’s just responding in an appropriate manner to unique situations of need that are brought to our attention. Whatever it is, it should be from the heart and should be given from joy, not guilt.
Like the passage in Malachi says, God doesn’t care about the donations we make from our excess. It’s an offense if we simply give to Him what is of no use to us. God isn’t a Salvation Army drop-off center. Thinking about it in that way really makes you reconsider your giving habits; both to God as well as to other people in your life.
at the trailhead 