GOD'S MONEY IN MY PURSE
Kevin D. Paulson
One preacher I heard years ago once said that the “tenderest nerve in the body runs to the pocketbook.”
He may have been right.
Few subjects evoke more interest and more emotion, whether in the sacred or the secular realm.
So much of the moral counsel we find in such places as the book of Proverbs in Holy Scripture, concerns our acquisition and management of money.
Many, of course, are familiar with such passages as the one in First Timothy, chapter 6, verse 10:
I Tim. 6:10:
“For the love of money is the root of all evil.”
It is amazing how this love of material means can hide itself in the human experience, yet once it is revealed, it explains so much.
Years ago, crime writer and former police officer Joseph Wambaugh, in his book Echoes in the Darkness (which told the story of the infamous Main Line Murder Case in Pennsylvania), quoted the judge in this case as he sentenced one of the key defendants, who was later to die in prison.
Addressing the now-convicted murderer, the judge declared:
“I guess it must be said that you are some kind of an anomaly to us. . . . It is said that your interests were such that they were in other than material things; yet it has been decided that you were willing to take three lives for something in excess of seven hundred thousand dollars and not for any other reason.”
Joseph Wambaugh, Echoes in the Darkness (paperback edition) (New York: Bantam Books, 1987), p. 302.
The Bible is full of stories about men and women who sold their integrity for money.
Such persons as Achan, Gehazi, Ananias and Sapphira come to mind. Not to mention the supreme example of all—Judas Iscariot, who because of this overruling vice in his character, ended up selling his Master to a cruel death.
- “All Things Come of Thee”
The Bible is clear that everything in this world belongs to God. This is because God created everything in the first place.
Deut. 10:14:
“Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s the God; the earth also, with all that therein is.”
Psalm 24:1:
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
I Cor. 10:26:
“For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
In his final address to the people of Israel just before he died, King David declared:
I Chron. 29:14:
“For all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.”
It is this principle which underlies the Biblical doctrine of Christian stewardship, not only in matters of finance, but in all other matters as well.
- The Tithe
The principle of tithing, when it comes to our personal finances, is one many Christians are familiar with.
But sadly, it is also one of the most neglected Biblical teachings in contemporary Christian circles.
One reason, perhaps, is that many are not familiar with how widespread this concept is, throughout the Sacred Pages.
Lev. 27:30:
“And all the tithe of the land . . . is the Lord’s.”
Num. 18:21:
“I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance.”
Num. 18:24:
“But the tithes of the children of Israel . . . I have given to the Levites to inherit.”
Now some, I am sure, are already wondering: Don’t these verses imply that the tithing system was for Israel only?
Wasn’t it part of the rites and ceremonies given to Moses, which ended at the cross?
Well, we see in the following passages how tithing actually began before Moses:
When Abraham gave thanks to God for his victory over the kings who had taken his nephew Lot captive, the Bible speaks of how Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out refreshments for Abraham’s army, and offered him a divine blessing for his courage.
Gen. 14:18-20:
“And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the most high God.
“And he blessed him, and said, Blessed by Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
“And blessed by the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”
Jacob made a similar commitment to God while he was fleeing into exile from his brother Esau:
Gen. 28:22:
“And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and for all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.”
Now the Bible informs us, in a passage we’ve considered already, what in fact the tithe was used for during the Old Testament period:
Num. 18:21:
“I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.”
But in the New Testament we find this very interesting statement, from the writings of the apostle Paul, regarding how ministers of the gospel in the Christian era should be recompensed for their work:
I Cor. 9:13-14:
“Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.”
So the apostle is here telling us that just like the priests of the Israelite temple, who were obviously paid from the tithe as we have seen, so those who preach the New Testament gospel are to be paid in the same fashion.
So the tithing system in the Old Testament was not done away with at the cross.
In fact, we’re going to see some very strong statements in the Bible as to how God looks at those who refuse to return to Him their tithes and offerings.
The Bible in fact tells us to Whom we are returning these resources:
Heb. 7:8:
“And here men that die receive tithes: but there He (Christ) receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that He liveth.”
That’s why I don’t even like to speak of PAYING tithes and offerings, but rather, RETURNING them. Because they are the Lord’s, given to us on loan.
Listen to how God regards those who do not faithfully return their tithes and offerings to Him:
Mal. 3:8-9:
“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings.
“Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation.”
Now let’s consider the kinds of sins that are described elsewhere in this passage, which is very much an oracle of divine judgment against God’s unfaithful people:
Mal. 3:1-3:
“Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me, and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
“But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap.
“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. . . .
“And I will come near to you in judgment: and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Please consider that it is in this context that God describes those withholding tithes and offerings as guilty of robbery toward Him.
Most would have no trouble characterizing sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, and those who oppress the vulnerable as guilty of grievous sin.
But what about those who rob God Himself?
That’s what we’re talking about here.
Let’s be clear that the New Testament also says that thieves aren’t going to heaven:
I Cor. 6:10:
“Nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
But we can praise the name of the Lord that a promise of blessing is attached to those who faithfully return tithes and offerings to God:
Mal. 3:10-12:
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
“And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.”
- Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, the words of our Lord still ring true:
Luke 12:34:
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Where we place our material means is where our deepest and most cherished values lie.
Will we, like Abraham and Jacob of old, covenant before God this hour to return to Him one tenth of our increase, for the sustaining and prosperity of His work?
Contrary to what some believe, God does not despise wealth.
Some of the greatest and godliest men in Bible times were rich.
But when wealth becomes an idol, taking our attentions and devotion away from God and our fellow human beings, it becomes a great spiritual liability.
God is asking us to place our means on His sacred altar, to be disposed of as He and His work require.
Yes, those funds in our wallets and purses are the Lord’s. They don’t belong to us. Let us, at long last, place these resources at our loving Savior’s command.