Mega Greed or Mega Need! You Decide!!!

Malachi 3:8-11 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. 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.

 

            WAIT!!! WAIT!!! WAIT!!! Okay, you may say, “I have heard the above verse over and over and over so many times that I can quote it in my sleep, and speak it in tongues.” For many of us, this is the case, and it is one of the few verses that people can recall from memory just as fluently as they talk. So what is the problem? Why is there such a controversy with this scripture? Shouldn’t it be just as simple as just mere obedience? Oh, wait! I almost forgot! Many people have been turned off by what they feel to be misuse of God’s money in the church. Therefore, they do not feel the need to give and that this text may no longer apply to New Testament Christians.

            They look at the preachers on television and how large the congregations are. They look at all the nice clothes, cars, homes, and even butlers some of the ministers have been known to own. They look at the extravagance of private airplanes, several cars, mansion style houses, lavish lifestyles, and the Bling-Bling that is shown on some of the newer television shows. What many have just merely thought about preachers is actually been played out on reality TV. The gold, women, name-brand attire, stadium type facilities with coffee shops, and of course CASH—lots of it! So why would anyone want to give to the church? Well, let’s dig a little deeper into this subject matter.

Haggai 1:1-12 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest: ²This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, `The time has not yet come for the LORD'S house to be built.'"

³Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: ⁴"Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?" ⁵Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. ⁶You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

⁷This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. ⁸Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. ⁹"You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. ¹⁰Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. ¹¹I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands." ¹²Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.

          In the above text, God obviously was not happy with His people. They were building themselves up fine homes, while His house laid in ruins. They were not concerned about the things of God, but was only concerned about themselves. Therefore, God’s curse was upon them. They were making money and yet not able to keep it. They were feeding themselves and yet not able to remain full, and the list goes on. God was blowing on their possessions because they had left out the GIVER and therefore, they were not entitled to the gifts. You cannot expect the THINGS of GOD, while taking it upon yourself to leave Him out. How can you forget about the person who blessed you to begin with? Without God, there would be no job, car, house, money, and the list goes on.

            Well, do you have to give to the church? Again, if we go back to the above text, God was telling His people to take care of HIS HOUSE. How do we do that? We can only do this by GIVING monetary proceeds. Yes, we can also give in ways of time, but it takes money to run the house of God. Lights, rent/mortgage (unless you own) maintenance, upkeep, toiletries, etc. are only able to be met if people give. Just think about it! If you don’t pay the light bill of your home, you will soon be sing lullabies by the candle. The same is with the house of God. He needs us to give for the upkeep of His house.

            Okay, so you feel that you are paying the preacher’s salary and that he doesn’t need all of that. Well, some “may” go a little overboard. However, there are many pastors who are actually doing what they were called to do. What would it look like if your pastor had a 93’ Geo Metro that kept breaking down every week? With each time the car did not crank, he had to call a member to get a ride to church just so he wouldn’t be late for the day’s sermon. Better yet, your pastor is preaching about how God can bless you, while he is wearing 70’s tight pants, sole-less shoes, and moth smelling clothes. You may begin to start fasting for his prosperity instead of your own at the sight of this. 1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially who labor in the word an doctrine. (KJV)

            Timothy is saying that those who have devoted their lives in the ministry do deserve wages for their work. Most ministers do this full-time and this is the only support that they get. We expect a lot from them which includes, prayer, running of the church, visiting the sick, counseling, doing things in the community, and much more. It would be hard to work a full-time job to support yourself and/or family and then do all the things listed above. Don’t you want pay for the work that you do at your place of employment? Well, a pastor who does what God has called him to do, does deserve to be compensated for his time.

            I must admit to you, that for a long time, I REALLY struggled with giving tithes. I did not find it necessary for New Testament Christians and therefore, I did not do it. Yes, I gave here and there, as well as my time, but I did not give a 10% tithes out of my earnings. I had trouble with the concept of once Uncle Sam took his part out, I would still have to give an additional part. However, one day it hit me…I was looking at it wrong!

          What if everyone felt the same way that I did? How would the ministry get spread unto all the world? Isn’t this what Jesus told us to do before departing back into the heavens? Mathew 28: 18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given into me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (KJV) How will Jesus ever be able to come back if we don’t do OUR PART in spreading the gospel. The gospel doesn’t spread itself and it takes money to do this just like it does with anything else.

 How many of you have watched ministers on TV? That takes MONEY! How many of you have sat in your church buildings on pews, seats and even toilets? That takes MONEY! How many of you have had books, programs, and other religious materials given to you for free? Well, it WASN’T FREE! That takes Money! How many of you have been ministered to, visited, or called from your pastor? That takes MONEY! It takes money for him to run the lights to preach. It takes money for him to use his GAS to come visit. It takes money for him to keep his phone connected to give you a call.

There is so much that our pastors do that we should appreciate. See, when I stopped looking at what I was giving, but what I would be CONTRIBUTING to the KINGDOM of GOD, then all my “doubts” about giving went away. I don’t want to be a mere receiver of the gospel. I want to do MY PART to contribute to the work of God and receive my reward and stars on my crown. Whenever you give towards, God’s kingdom, you are helping to take souls from the enemy’s camp. That’s right! You are taking souls from the devil and signing them up for military service for the Lord. Isn’t it awesome to know that you are saving someone from eternal fire? I don’t know about you, but that feels GREAT!

There is so much to cover on this topic and I haven’t began to finish this. Therefore, I will continue part 2 of this tomorrow. WE do have some “PREACHERS” that misuse the things of God. I will not dare call them pastors because there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE. A Pastor ministers to the soul, but a Preacher can preach to the pews. Yes sir/mam! I know that people use them interchangeably. But if you really think about it, there is a difference. I think most of us consider ourselves as having pastors and not just preachers. Wouldn’t you agree? Okay! Part 2 tomorrow because the steak is about to get on the grill. Have a blessed day!