Return To Sender

This morning I was listening to a great sermon by Craig Groeschel pastor of Life Church (www.lifechurch.tv) entitled "God Wants You Happy." It's a part of his sermon series "Urban Myths." He is an amazing communicator and very edgy so if you take a listen be warned. This guys is a major risk taker, but I appreciate what he has to say.

In the message he talks about the importance of financial stewardship, but he didn't talk about giving to God. He spoke of the tithe in a wonderful way. He said that believers don't give to God we return our tithe and offerings to God. Do you see the difference? We don't give to God we return to God what is His.

This tells us a number of things about money and our lives.

One, it tells us that what we have is not our own. All that we have in life is a gift from God. We don't own any of it. We are using it right now and responsible for it right now, but we are going to leave this life with as much stuff in our hands as we entered it with. That means our tithes are not us giving God our stuff. Our tithes and offering are giving back to God what was already His.

Second, we have no reason to be proud of our tithes and offerings because we are not doing anything except giving to God what is His. It would be different if the money was ours, but it's not. It's God's and we are giving back to Him what is rightly His. He doesn't want all of it. He wants us to live and be wise with the other 90%, but He wants the first 10%.

Third, if we are not returning to God His tithe we are stealing from God. After all, it is His. Malachi teaches this truth in 3:8-10:
"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 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.

If you are not a Christian, please know that you don't need to give God money. You need to give God your life so He can take responsibility for you. He will take responsibility for your sin so you don’t have to. He will take responsibility for your future so you don’t have to. He will take responsibility for your needs so you don't have to. He wants you to live free in His love and under His authority.

If you are a Christian, please know that all that you are has been bought by the blood of Christ. You are His. All of you and all that you have is His. He has commanded you to return the first 10% of your income, which His. Don't rob God. If you are returning what is His, don't be proud. You are only giving to Him what is already His. It's not from you. It's through you.