May 29, 2015
Stealing From God
A recent offertory meditation
given at a local church began, “Less than a third of the people in the church
tithe. One tenth of what you make is holy money and it belongs not to you, but
to God. Anyone who withholds his tithe is stealing from God.” The speaker was passionate, but I’m just not convinced
that we can steal from God. Even Ananias and Sapphira, who held back funds,
were not charged with stealing, but rather with lying to the Holy Spirit. In
exposing the less than honest contribution Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that
Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have
kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t
it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at
your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to
men but to God” (Acts 5:3-4 NIV).
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Gail;
-----What is stealing? It is a big word. I benefit greatly from the insights you present in your blog. And I benefit further by responding to them. But if that is the extent of my interest, then I steal your blog’s purpose of stimulating thought and discussion amongst the Lord’s people. So I try to make every thought I present beneficial to your readers, and I even poke ribs a little bit, hoping to stimulate some discussion. And every morning I watch for other comments hoping to see many so I won’t feel so much like I’m stealing the show. Do we do this with God any?
-----I won’t launch another complaint session about church, but comparing the effects the New Testament anticipates from our gathering together in the behaviors and interactions among each other and the thoughts and feelings about each other the Bible prescribes to the typical church worship service, I notice we’ve stolen much of God’s purpose for church. I even remember a very targeted effort to steal the church’s purpose which washed over God’s people like a tsunami. I don’t want to steal the topic, so I’ll get off the church’s back.
-----Sometimes Char tells me how well I make her life feel. Of course, I hug her and thank her and steal a little kiss, because her praise so affirms the life ambitions I’ve had since I was twelve to gird up, supply, enrich, and make very happy a blessed wife. And I have worked hard to learn what the Lord teaches about how to do that and to practice it until I could hopefully someday be able to perform it. But if I yet did not attribute any success I might have had in making her happy to what the Lord teaches and to the Holy Spirit’s plowing and tilling of my heart’s field, and indeed, to the regeneration of my mind that His principles cause, then I only steal His glory.
-----Every moment of our lives is a particular situation. And God desires every decision we make regarding each situation to be the right decision causing good effects for reverberating out through all other situations it touches. The way righteousness works into the woodwork of this life shines out His glory like a beacon. Do we steal that by steering situations to our own needs?
-----Generosity goes far beyond tithing. Generosity is a style of thought written into a condition of the heart. It is spawned by an ability to experience joy other people have, and it is driven by ambition to experience joy that way. It is the skill of creating that joy by sharing more than just our goods and services, but even the very purposes of our situations with others. Do we steal joy from God by trying to pack generosity into the tiny container of tithing?
-----I had a very well off friend several years ago. We discussed tithing often. He was adamant about it. I was adamant about generosity. As I came to know him better, what thoughts were the tickings of his heart and what thoughts made him flee, I began to realize tithing protected his wealth. He had the financial capacity to give far more than ten percent. But ten percent was the meeting of his obligation. Stealing from God?
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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