THE CHOICE OF CURSE OR BLESSING
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!”
Malachi 3:8-10 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
As I read this passage, I think of an old movie in which some bank robbers who weren’t real smart pulled off a bank heist only to discover they had robbed money from the mafia. They immediately realized they were in big trouble because they stole from the wrong people. The nation of Israel is in trouble. They are being attacked by their enemies and they are suffering. They don’t understand what is going on, so God lets them in on a secret—they have been robbing God. (In this translation it says “cheated” but it means the same thing.) Israel had broken the arrangement of their covenant with God. God had instructed them to bring the first 10% of their crops and animals to the Temple as offerings to God. Instead, they were only bringing in a portion of the tithe. God tells them they are “under a curse.” We always have a choice. A choice to live under a curse or under a blessing. When we live in obedience to the commandments of God we are choosing to live under a blessing. When we fail to obey, we place ourselves under a curse. The consequence of the curse is that we are not living out the fullness of God’s favor. Sometimes the curse results in sickness. Sometimes it causes financial loss. Sometimes it causes relational loss. Sometimes it opens the door for anxiety, fear, and worry at uncontrollable levels. We cannot avoid the cause and effect of disobedience. I have discovered there is rarely an immediate reaction to my failure to obey. If I immediately suffered difficulty or problems, I would connect the dots and stop the action. Often it appears God’s mercy delays the consequences. The result is that Satan tried to help me forget my disobedience and instead blame God as being unfair or unloving. I am choosing to live my life in obedience in every area—including the way I handle the resources God has given to me. I want to bring the whole tithe into God’s house. I am so careful about this that I give my tithe and offering electronically so that it is automatically deposited in the house of God.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit please help me to be faithful in giving the first ten percent of my income to the House of God. Show me any area of my life that is outside Your will. Forgive me and direct me how to get back into agreement with You.
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