Are You Cheating God?

First we need to determine what is meant by the term cheating. There are many examples of cheating but we don't want to go there for this post. We just want to know what cheating is, if or when we get caught up in it. Cheating is nothing more than a deceptive or fraudulent act imposed on someone or others. In this case, it would involve our deception with God. Surely none of us want to be caught up in this foolishness!

All of us are aware that God is all knowing. This means He knows any and everything about you and your life; every aspect of it. One thing for sure, we cannot hide anything from Him. This brings us to the main point of this post. God knows exactly how much income you bring into your household. He also knows how generous or stingy you are with it. He expects us to give back to Him what He already owns but so many times we want to hold on to it and use it for our own gain. Is God happy with those kinds of intentions? Absolutely not! We can justify our actions any way we want but the bottom line is, are you cheating God?

In Malachi 3 the prophet talks about the people robbing God. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.'” (vs. 8 & 9) Do you see yourself resembling these individuals when it comes to giving back to God what rightfully belongs to him? If so, you are in BIG trouble! The good news is that you don't have to stay in trouble. There is a way out and you can find that exit today.

We find in God's word those that were willing to give what they had to the Lord. One instance is found in 1 Chronicles 29:3-9. Here King David makes provision for the building of the temple by his son Solomon. He gives gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood onyx stones, glistening stones, all kinds of precious stones and marble slabs in abundance. Verse 3 has the real impact because David expresses his affection on the house of his God by giving from his own abundance in addition to all the other provisions noted above. Does God need what we have? No. He already owns it. He owns the whole universe and our share is but a speck compared to the vastness of everything. He wants us to give back for our own good and for our own necessity.

Are you willing to do your part, starting now, in keeping the house of God open so that those who are on the outside will have the opportunity to enter in and worship. Without our freewill offering this will not be possible. Give till it hurts!

God's Blessings!

Eddie

Being A Miser Will Make You Miserable!

Jesus taught that we are not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal (Matt. 6:19). Then Paul wrote to young Timothy, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Tim. 6:10).

Hopefully we will never find ourselves in either of these conditions, but just in case, here is an example of a miser that I pray will deter us if we are headed in that direction.

A notorious miser was called on by the chairman of the community charity. “Sir,” said the fund-raiser, “our records show that despite your wealth, you’ve never once given to our drive.” “Do your records show that I have an elderly mother who was left penniless when my father died? fumed the tightwad. “Do your records show that I have a disabled brother who is unable to work? Do your records show I have a widowed sister with small children who can barely make ends meet?” “No, sir,” replied the embarrassed volunteer. “Our records don’t show those things.” “Well, I don’t give to any of them, so why should I give anything to you?”

Landon Parvin in Leaders, quoted in Readers Digest, May 1996, pp. 67-68.

We should all pray that we would never have this kind of attitude when it comes to helping others in need. Are there people like this in the world? Sure enough! It is apparent that they have no idea what the word of God says about being a miser or about being greedy.

If you are a generous person, then you will be unlike the greedy person who will be miserable for all eternity. We, as Christians, know what we must do in order to inherit everlasting life and being greedy is a characteristic that will keep us far from this goal.

We are a part of a church family at Lee County that is very generous with God's blessings in our lives. The family has never come up short when there was a need both inside or outside the flock. God is pleased with this kind of Christ-like behavior. Read Matthew 25:35-40.