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Robbery Without a Weapon
By: Bishop T. Garrott Benjamin, Jr., D. Min.
Light of the World Christian Church
Indianapolis, IN
Adapted for web by Theresia Whitfield
The headline in the daily newspaper grabs your attention before you can
grab your first cup of coffee. Members of your church were arrested in
the middle of the night for robbing your church. You read on in
disbelief discovering that your fellow parishioners robbed the church
of its tithes. No one used a gun. No one wielded a weapon. No one was
physically harmed. Nothing was taken except for the tithe which they
took and kept for themselves. They had only one demand for the pastor.
The hand-written note said; “Ask God if He would open the windows of
Heaven and pour out blessings upon us, despite our disobedience.”
The headline in the daily newspaper grabs your attention before you can grab your first cup of coffee. Members of your church were arrested in the middle of the night for robbing your church. You read on in disbelief discovering that your fellow parishioners robbed the church of its tithes. No one used a gun. No one wielded a weapon. No one was physically harmed. Nothing was taken except for the tithe which they took and kept for themselves. They had only one demand for the pastor. The hand-written note said; “Ask God if He would open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings upon us, despite our disobedience.”
It seems a bit improbable, doesn’t it? And yet, it’s a practice that occurs every single day, without grabbing the headlines of the local paper.
The Bible calls the non-tither a robber, and since there is never a weapon visible, it is easy to say that those who withhold their tithe (or the first 10% of their income) are guilty of robbery without a weapon.
The Bible says in Malachi 3:8-9a, “Will a man rob God? You say, ‘no’, yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings.”
That scripture continues by saying, “’you are under a curse – the whole nation of you – because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this’, 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. For I am the Lord and I change not…’”
It almost sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s a bit too melodramatic. Too exaggerated or outdated. But why shouldn’t we believe the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever?
The tithe is not an invitation from the church or the preacher, but the Word of God. Not only are we instructed to give, we are instructed to give joyfully.
The tithe is a tenth of what God has given us. It is also His financial plan for the work of the Kingdom. Each church is financed by true believers who give at least their tithe – and some more - to the local church for the work of the Kingdom. These tithes form the foundation for Christian service and discipleship for the community and the under-served by providing money, meals, and meaning for the living of their lives. The church uses these opportunities so that others can see that God’s house can be a blessing and an example of the power of giving.
The question then becomes who wouldn’t want to tithe? Tithing is vital to victory in the financial realm. Each of us has – or should have – a financial plan for our daily living. God’s financial plan – tithing - not only fits into His plan for Kingdom work, but He also fits tithing into His plan for our prosperity.
When we fail to give of the tithe at least four things happen:
God is robbed of his delight.
God is robbed of his ministry to others.
We are robbed of our own prosperity.
The world is robbed of Jesus Christ.
God delights in us and in our obedience. 1 Samuel 15:22 holds us accountable as God suggests “obedience is better than sacrifice.” When it comes to tithing, the old adage says, “If you were accused of being a Christian tither, would they have enough evidence to convict you, or would you be arrested on another charge: robbery without a weapon?”
The second thing we rob God of is ministry or service to others. Each church bases their tithing potential on the income of its members. For many, that number is high. And yet, they operate on a much smaller portion. For this reason, many churches are living below their potential because of a lack of obedience, and ministries or service to others in need fail to materialize.
The third thing is we freeze our finances and keep the window closed on our blessings. Many are suffering unnecessarily because they are breathing in the stale air of disobedience. God says, “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ 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.’”
Last and worst of all, the world is robbed of Jesus Christ when we don’t tithe. A quarter of a million souls pass into eternity each day and most of them have never heard Jesus preached to them. Each of us will have to give an account on the coming Judgment Day: some will say they never heard Christ, others will confess they rejected Christ and some were robbed of Christ because of disobedience to His Word.
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.” It is God’s Word. It is God’s financial way. It is God’s work. Anything less is robbery without a weapon. The bottom line is expressed in the words of Mother Teresa when she encouraged us to, “preach the Gospel and use words where necessary.” The tithe is one opportunity to preach the Gospel and, not be guilty of robbery without a weapon.
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Posted on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 (Archive on Sunday, April 22, 2007)
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