If someone would ask you, prioritize on a list, starting with the most important five things that really matter to you, what would you put on your list? What you put on your list will probably influence and be exemplified by the way you live. What you put on your list almost certainly will influence many of the decisions you make, relationships you have and probably occupy much of your time, and even involve a good portion of your finances. The things on your list will also influence and determine many aspects of your future.
As believers in Christ who love God and trust Him and His Word in and for every area of our lives, God should be first on our list. By making God our first point on our list will influence and determine how we live out all the other points on the list and reflect that God really matters in our lives. There should be no exceptions or exclusions. Here is a hypothetic example of what I mean. I love God, He is the most important person in my life over everything else, but I will not allow Him or what He says in His Word to tell me how much time I should spend working on my baseball card collection, or how much money I should spend on my baseball card collection. This example might be fictitious but the question is, are there points on my list that reflect the areas of my life that I am not allowing God to be the primary influencer?
This spiritual principle is applied very clearly in what Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:37-39. Please note Jesus is not telling us to not love our families, but he is telling us that He should be first priority on our list of importance before anyone else. 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Concerning the priority of finances and material things in our lives, Jesus said in, Matthew 6:19-21, 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Last year in the month of July I wrote a bulletin message, which was also on Hope Chapel’s Facebook page (Hope Chapel Oak Lawn Foursquare church), titled, “The Evidence Of God’s Love In My Life”. I started the article asking this question, “What is the evidence in my life that demonstrates to others I love Jesus?” I continued to state, “If someone would come up to me and ask me, do you love God? Of course my answer would be, “yes I do!” But those three words are just words, and it does not answer the question, how is my love for God evidenced in my life?” I trust at this point you are seeing how these questions relate to our list. I say I love God, and I say He is the most important person in my life over everything else and He is the first point on my list. But am I allowing Him to influence all the other points on my list?
Jesus was asked a question by an expert of Jewish law in Matthew 22:36-39, 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. Jesus, in His answer, acknowledges the validity of the Old Testament Law and what it tells of how we are to love God. Jesus also tells us how we can continue to live in Gods love in John 15:9-10, 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
The Bible is full of commandments, a great deal more than the well known ten that are found in Exodus 20:1-18. But in our loving relationship with God and our earnest desire to live in that relationship obeying His Word, are we aware of and faithfully obeying God’s most basic commandment concerning our finances? I can easily tell others I love God, that God is the most important person in my life, that He is the first point on my list over anything else? Am I demonstrating that I love God by putting my love into action by giving of my tithes and offerings?
The reason I am quoting Malachi 3:7-12 is to put in the context of what Jesus says about loving God. The giving of my tithes and offerings is one of the many ways that reflect and demonstrate that I love God. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “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. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. Please also read Malachi 3:7-12 in the New Living Translation and The message Bibles.
I am not going to give an exegesis (Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.) to explain Malachi 3:7-12. The three page paper, Four Basic Questions About Tithes And Offerings that everyone from our Hope Chapel family, (including those on our mailing list) will be receiving does an excellent job of explaining in a Biblical and contemporary way our responsibility concerning our tithes and offerings.
John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.
It is really hard to trust someone (especially with our money) who we do not know or love. It is easy for me to say “I love God”, (and I should do that regularly) but do I really trust Him? Are we demonstrating our love for God and trust in God by our faithful and regular giving of our tithes? The more we grow in our relationship with God, the more our love for God grows and the more we learn to trust Him and act on what His Word tells us, including the giving of our tithes and offerings.
Pastor John
