Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me. But you say, “Wherein have we robbed You?” In tithes and offerings.
Yesterday, we began a discussion on the subject of Ownership and Stewardship. This is a subject that every believer must have complete understanding of because as the Master said in the end of the Parable of the Talents, “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The first rule of Stewardship is the paying of one’s tithes. The paying of tithes is equivalent to paying rent to the owner of the property where you live.
If you have ever lived in a house or apartment that does not belong to you, you understand that the owner of the property (the landlord) makes the rules for their property. If you want to live on their property, you must obey their rules. One of the most important rules is the payment of the rent. To occupy the property of another costs money. We call this rent.
Yesterday, we learned that we are stewards of God’s property. We own nothing. God owns everything. Therefore, we are responsible for paying rent to the Owner. Our tithes are rent.
We don’t “give” rent to the landlord of the property we occupy; we “pay” it. We pay it because we “owe” it. When we moved in, we agreed to pay the rent on a certain day of every month. Likewise, we owe our Master our tithes. The Word of God declares this to be 10% of our income and earnings. We owe God rent on His property every month, and if we don’t pay it, eventually God will retaliate in a just manner.
People who just move into the house of another and live there are called “squatters.” Sometimes the owner of the property does not know the squatters have moved in, but when they find out, the people are required to pay the back rent.
God is well aware of every squatter on His Property. He knows, and eventually, one way or the other, they will pay all the back rent. We serve a just God. However, once we understand that we have been “squatting” on God’s property, the Holy Spirit will bring conviction to our hearts about this long-term sin. At that time, if we repent of this sin and turn from our wicked ways, God is faithful to forgive the debt. That, my friends, is MERCY!
However, from that point on, God expects us to pay our rent (tithes) in a timely manner every month. Paying tithes is serious business with God. He owns the property. We occupy His property. We owe the rent to the Owner.
I learned a long time ago that it’s better to pay my rent on time. How about you?
God will collect the rent and He will……..turn the tide
Rent paid! Doreen
