2007-03-02
Good Morning God's Treasures,
All who have true faith are indeed God's treasures! We have been given blessings from His wonderful heart. Many of those are spiritual blessings, the kind which can transcend the grave. Some are even given great material blessings, which they will use to further His Kingdom. The Holy Spirit calls me to write about what it means to "win the victory" in the context of materialism. I'm as guilty of wanting material things as the next person, which is why this morning's topic is forcing me to put my spiritual beliefs where the "rubber meets the road." Being wise stewards of our material wealth means making difficult choices. I refer to things like choosing to give to benefit God's Kingdom, rather than buying that newest electronic device. It can also mean increasing one's annual church pledge to the point where we are putting God's work before our comforts. Paul lets us know God's will in the attitude of such a good steward in 2 COR 9: 7, "Each man should give what He has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." My own experience in this matter has been that when we take such an attitude of cheerful giving, God will see to it that our own needs are met.
We have already become familiar with Christ's words in MT 6: 24, "No one can be a slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon [money]." Just prior to that He told us to store our riches in heaven and not on earth [RO 6: 19-21]. We need to see how these truths can be put into action in our own lives. Tithing averages are embarrassingly lower than one would think. A study done on this revealed that churchgoers in North America with an average annual income of $50,000 or more give only 1-2% of their income. Amazingly enough, those with an average annual income of $10, 000 or less give 10-20 % of their income. What's wrong with this 1-2 % figure? A lot! We need only look at the priorities of many corporate upper level management, movie stars, athletes, and other highly paid people. Giving to charity is often done for the tax breaks it will yield, not because it serves God's Kingdom. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule- these situations are rarely all or nothing. Many people give very publicly, rather than keeping these contributions to themselves. Their reason for doing so is obvious-self-aggrandizement.
The word "tithe" means a tenth. The payment of tithes is first mentioned in GN 14: 20 when Abram goes to Melchizedek, the King of Salem, a Priest of the Most High, and (I believe) a theophany [visible manifestation from God] of Jesus Christ or the Angel of God. This is after Abram had won a victory at Chedorlaomer, and Melchizedek had brought bread and wine to Abram and had blessed him. " He said, 'May the Most High God, Who gave you victory over your enemies, be praised!' And Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the loot he had recovered." Many years later as the Jews were being released from the Babylonian captivity, the prophet, Malachi, wrote God's words about the payment of tithes, in MAL 3: 7-10. You like your ancestors before you, have turned away from My laws and have not kept them. Turn back to Me, and I will turn to you. But you ask, 'What must we do to turn back to you?' I ask you, is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating Me. 'How?' you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings. A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating Me. Bring the full amount of your tithes to the temple so that there will be plenty of food there. Put Me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things."
Two stories from the Bible further illustrate God's will on the matter of giving. One is the Parable of the Widow's Mite in LK 21: 1-4. "Jesus looked around and saw rich men dropping their gifts in the temple treasury, and He also saw a very poor widow dropping in two little copper coins. He said, 'I tell you that this poor widow put in more than all the others. For The others offered their gifts from what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, gave all she had to live on.'" The other comes in the question on paying taxes in MK 12: 13-17 [also MT 22: 15-22; LK 20: 20-26]. Some Pharisees and members of Herod's party wanted to trap the Lord Jesus with questions. They asked, in (14), "Tell us, is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Should we pay them or not?" Christ saw through this ploy to trap Him. Then, He asked them to bring Him a silver coin, asking them whose face was on it. They all replied, "the Emperor's." MK 12: 17, "So Jesus said, 'Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and render unto God what belongs to God.' And they were amazed at Jesus." Whether it's giving in church or paying one's fair share of taxes, the principle is the same. As Paul puts it in RO 13: 6-7, "That [it is a matter of conscience] is always why you pay taxes, because the authorities are working for God when they fulfill their duties. Pay, then, what you owe them; pay them your personal and property taxes, and show respect and honor for them all." We learn God's will from the Scriptures, but it is not enough to simply know it. We must also act on it.
PRAYER: O Lord, without You we are so warped in our thinking by the work of the evil one in our society and even in our homes and some churches. That can and is changed only by Your interaction in our lives. In RO 12: 2, we are told that You alone can "transform us inwardly by the renewal of our mind." We appeal to You, with grateful hearts that You are present in our lives, to help us overcome the enormous temptations to be poor stewards of our material wealth. All around us there are electronic devises, huge mansions, boats, trips, and other luxuries being purchased. This things are the products of a materialistic lifestyle that our Lord never intended. Rather, He would wish that we would work diligently for the Kingdom and be cheerful givers of money for this purpose. Christ made it clear that He detested hypocrisy in MT 23: 23, "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. They you could practice without neglecting the others." Not everyone can give as much as is needed. That is why Paul wrote 1 COR 16: 2, "Every Sunday each of you must put aside some money, in proportion to what he has earned, and save it up, so that there will be no need to collect money when I come." This offering for fellow believers can make a difference in getting Your work accomplished. 2 COR 8: 9 illuminates why this and other willing giving should be done. "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as He was, He made Himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of His poverty." Your Son's sacrifice of His own life on the cross, so that ours might be saved, shows us that He gave not only his material wealth, but also His very life for us! Your provision is something upon which we can count. PHIL 4: 19, "And with all His abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs." Thank You and praise You, Dearest Abba. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Next week, I am led to begin examining what spiritual maturity with regard to the issue of materialism means. The issue of giving is a tough subject for many of us. God has made it clear that "to whom much is given, much is expected" [MT 25: 29]. God know that we sometimes struggle with decisions on how to be good stewards of our wealth, just as we do on other things. The important thing is to realize that God is rooting for us to remain faithful, obedient, and blessed to be on His team. God knows we are a work in progress, which is why we aren't yet called to heaven to be with Him. But thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, we can look forward to that day when He has completed perfecting us in preparation for our glorification. In the meanwhile, God reveals Himself and His will to us, as we remain open to Him. PS 107: 43, "Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord." God tells us, in IS 41: 13, "I am the Lord, your God; I strengthen you and tell you; 'Do not be afraid; I will help you.'" We don't carry on alone. Our God has promised never to abandon those who remain faithful to Him. PS 9: 9-10, "The Lord is a Refuge for the oppressed, a place of safety in times of trouble. Those who know You, Lord, will trust you; You do not abandon anyone who comes to You." Take comfort in His presence and His constant love. Our wonderful God is near! Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn