Well done, thou good and faithful servant
Wouldn’t it be great to hear that greeting from God as we enter heaven? Awesome!
But what would we have to have done to receive such a humbling greeting? I imagine it would depend a lot on what we did with what He gave us.
I considered ending this lesson right here by asking you to get a handful of ink pens plus a ream of paper and start writing down all that God has given you. The next lesson would be even shorter: grab a piece of paper and write down what you have done for Him, with what He gave you. However, if you have read any of my previous lessons you know I could never be that brief. And I won’t stop now. Even though those two lessons (above) would probably have more meaning for you than all the others combined.
I was once told that the subject of wealth/money is the most prolific topic in the Bible. Whether that’s true or not I wouldn’t know; but I do know the subject is extremely important to God.
Grab your Bible and turn to Malachi 3, and let’s begin at verse 8… God asks: “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.” But you ask, “How do we rob you?” God answers: “In tithes and offerings.”
(I sure hope He doesn’t greet anyone in the line ahead of me with “You robbed Me” upon their entering His heaven.)
To tithe is to give 10 percent of our income to God for His work. Does He need our money to accomplish His work? Of course not. He can accomplish anything He wants. Tithing, however, is a test of our faith and gratitude. All we have and all we have become is a gift from God. How grateful are we for that? And how do we show it? As for our personal accomplishments, some might say “I did all the work”, and that could be true to a point, but He provided the means and opportunity or there would have been no work to do.
In Malachi 10 God continues: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house.” (Food for the less fortunate.) “TEST ME IN THIS” (the emphasis is mine) says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it…” (NIV)
Let me bring up a few points from this verse: first, God says to TEST HIM on this. Because He said that, you can be sure of the results. Nowhere else in the Bible does it say to test God. Second, He says you’ll have such a blessing that you won’t have room for it all. What would you do with all that? The first thing that comes to my mind is to GIVE IT AWAY! Hmmm, ya think He mighta had that in mind? He’s way ahead of us…
And because it’s coming so hard and fast, we will have a huge smile on our faces as we gladly share our blessings with those less fortunate.
2 Corinthians 9: 7- 8 (NLT): “You must each decide in your heart how much to give, and don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a cheerful giver. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” Verse 12: “So two good things will result from this ministry of giving — the needs of the believers will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.” Verse 14: “And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.”
Now who, after reading these promises, could withhold any tithe, realizing the ONGOING blessings generated from you simply giving God 1/10th of your income back to Him because He blessed you to begin with? You see the chain reaction, right? Imagine all the good resulting from your tithe? He gives to you because you gave to Him, and you got so much that you give to others, who will Thank God for His blessing, and they will “pray for you with deep affection”. And that’s just from THIS MONTH’S check! Imagine the blessings generated by you NEXT MONTH! And so on….
Here’s the best part: did you notice the scriptures never said anything about back-paying the tithes you missed? This is just the grace and mercy of God. He just tells us to do it, and He will turn on the firehose of blessings.
One more point: we should always give to God from our “first fruits”. We certainly don’t want to give to Him from our left-overs. He asks for 10 percent, which means we get to keep 90 percent. That doesn’t seem fair, does it? Especially when we look at an empty cross.
I once asked my dad: should I give from my gross or net? He looked me square in the eye and asked, sarcastically: Based on “all you’ve done for God”, would you want Him to bless you on that gross, or net? ‘Nuff said.
As for giving from your “first fruits”, i.e., the first checks you write each month, let me give you an example of WHY. If you’ve ever made cookies, when you scoop out the batter and press it onto the cookie sheet, you try to make them all the same size, right? But usually, when making the last cookie, too often it’s much smaller than the others. Is that the one you would offer to God?
Lastly, we are to give our tithes and offerings. Offerings are what is given above and beyond the tithe. Many times, church members are asked to give of their time, talent, and treasure. Obviously, our treasure refers to our financial assets. But we can, and should, do more. Maybe we have a musical talent which the church can use, or could be used to entertain residents of a nursing home. Maybe your carpentry talents could build wheelchair ramps, or install a mailbox to replace the one that’s fallen down. As for your time? Be faithful in your Sunday School attendance, teach a Bible class, volunteer in the church nursery, or help out in a food kitchen – especially during the holidays. These are your offerings, your sacrificial giving.
Do you know where God would really like our offerings to come from? He wants us to offer what would be the HARDEST thing for us to part with, which is usually our Time. Sharing a musical talent might be easy for you, and fun, but you haven’t had the time to use that talent in a nursing home. Carpentry work is fun, maybe it’s your hobby; but could you use it to help rebuild an old bathroom or broken-down porch for someone who can’t afford to pay? Maybe you just don’t have the TIME to do those things? But strangely enough we can always find time, talent, and treasures to do what we WANT to do. I’m not suggesting doing things you dislike, but do it to help those less fortunate, and see if you can bring a smile to someone’s face. It would probably bring a smile to God’s face, too. (But, gee, then here come all those blessings again. Sigh)
In His service, and yours,
Mike Jared
TCM Board Member
The Conversation
Another good word my brother!