Privileged

Malachi 3: 10

[T]est Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

Isn’t this what you want to hear God say?  He invites us to hold His feet to the fire.  Did you know about this?  Crazy, right?  Let me put this in context for you.

Recently I was in a small group where one person told another that I am a minister. Well, this person was immediately energized with questions. It was as though he had stored up questions and now he had a minister in a setting where he could get those answers. Here is the question I have, “If you could have a minister’s attention for a time, what question would you ask?” I was surprised by his, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. He asked me about tithing.

People think of Malachi 3: 10 as being about tithing, but is it? Maybe, instead, it is about the blessing. Look again at today’s text. What do you hear in God’s voice? Is He demanding, stern? I hear a father who is desperate to bless. This is the part of the verse I wanted the gentleman to walk away with, that Yahweh wants to bless us. Some people hear a command. Some hear a blessing. What makes an individual hear it differently? What do you hear?

The man’s follow up question was about the distinction between the New and the Old Testament. How, he asked, is the tithe carried over from the Old to the New? I find this question dumbfounding. The answer is John 1: 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is the Word, the whole Word. That is one of the things my book, Journey Through the Bible, was intended to show. Honestly, who among us is willing to throw out the Psalms or Proverbs? What about the book of Isaiah or Genesis? Even without this epiphany, I think that is an entirely wrong question. Here’s why.

Tithing did not begin in Malachi. Abraham (when he was still called Abram) tithed (Genesis 14: 20). This was before the Old Covenant. It predates the law. Therefore, even though we have been relieved of the curse of the law, the principle of tithing remains. Further, if you will read that passage in Genesis, you will again see a connection between blessing and tithing.

Here is what I think the real question is and what I believe lies at the root of tithing. I think that love is the basis of tithing. Because He loves me, I tithe. Because I love Him, I tithe. It is such a small honorific to give to Him to remind myself of my love for Him and His love for me. My friend, Chuck Goldberg, adds another insight to tithing. Love, he says, is one side of the tithing coin. The other is respect. Wow! Don’t you find that a powerful statement? We tithe out of respect for our God and Father.

God said, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house,” (Malachi 3: 10a). That’s enough for me. He said it, that ended any debate for me. However, I want to tithe because of love and respect. That is the real key. Do we tithe because of a law or because we want to? If one tithes out of duty or obligation, then perhaps the burden feels heavy. Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11: 30). So, if tithing feels like a burden, you may need to adjust your yoke. Jesus said to go to him and learn of him, so ultimately we all need more of him, his words and his teachings. Then we will receive rest and be free of the burdens we’ve allowed to weigh us down (read Matthew 11: 28 – 30).

Please, don’t allow tithing to be a burden to you. If it is, talk with Jesus. Ask him how to make it a delight. Be blessed!

Do you want coaching? Have questions? Reach out to us, Ivey Ministries Coaching.

Rest Area

Mark 6: 31

And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.

Jesus and his disciples were absolutely flooded with work; so much so, in fact, that they did not even have time to eat. Have you ever been that busy? If so, look at the teaching Jesus gave the disciples. Take time out. Do not keep up this pace. Jesus took them away from their work to a quiet, lonely place so that they could have rest. The work they were doing was important. It was the work of the Lord. They were ministering to the needs of the people and people were getting saved. Yet even though they were doing Jesus’ own work, working in his own ministry he took them away from it. It was important to Jesus that he teach them balance. This lesson was so important to Jesus that he took his disciples away from the needy and hungry children of Israel. Can you really grasp how significant that was? Jesus’ ministry was only to last three years and yet he took his disciples away from work.

And why did this story find its way into the Bible? Of course it is so that we will not make the same mistake that the disciples were making. Jesus wants us to learn to balance our lives. He takes no joy in a work-a-holic. Our society applauds busyness and over work but in Jesus’ book those are the signs of someone who is out of balance and headed for a crash. Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burden light (Matthew 11: 30) so if we are struggling under a heavy burden then we know we have stepped out of Jesus’ yoke and picked up a burden of our own. Jesus would “often slip away to the wilderness and prayLuke 5: 16. He taught his disciples to slip away so that they could rest and pray. If he did that and he taught his disciples to do the same, then why do you think that he wants something different for you? Luke says that Jesus would “often” slip away. That means that he didn’t just wait for his annual vacation. He lived a life of balance and he wants us to do the same. I once heard Kenneth E. Hagin preach a wonderful message about living a fasted life. Some people live life full steam in one direction and then full steam in another direction. Hagin was teaching balance. Work when it is time to work but rest when it is time to rest. Take time to pray and take time to live. Don’t overload in any direction but rather keep yourself in peace and balance. If Jesus was not only willing but dedicated to leaving his work in order to get rest and prayer time, then don’t you think it is wise for us to do the same thing? I know this can be a difficult lesson to learn but listen to the Spirit of God. He is trying to tell you something. It is in your best interest and for God’s glory.