To give or not to give?

 “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.”-Malachi 3:8

Money. A very sensitive issue to discuss in any platform and any layers of society. As the world has been in the most challenging time economically; battling the pandemic and as nations try to stay afloat in this massive wave of economic disaster, it is unlikely that this topic is welcome especially in the church. Hence, this topic is one of the hardly preach topic on the pulpit. But, nonetheless, it is necessary to address the elephant in the room. It is important to note that the views may not reflect the entire church or the entire Christian community but rather purely based on my study and understanding of the Scriptures in relation to the giving.

This article will not focus on the technical regulations of the giving stipulated within the Old Testament laws but rather the general ideas of giving and why it is fundamental practice dated all the way back before the law was given. So, as usual, it all should begin by asking the right question, why we should give? The common giving in the church settings would be tithe (a tenth of your income). The tithing system existed long before the existence of the laws. For example, Abraham presented a tithe of war-booty to the priest-king, Melchizedek. Though the requirement for the giving differ depending on the circumstances, generally it was viewed as thanksgiving offering for many occasions.

But, why did the LORD so indignant towards the people of Israel when He spoke through prophet Malachi then, in the verse quoted above? What does it mean to rob God? Rightly so we should ask ourselves, on how do we rob God? To put it into a perspective, here is a great Provider of everything under the heaven, and there is no way we could rob God since His belongings are limitless, and even if we did, He should not be furious of such for it is equal to a servant took a grain of rice from his master’s storehouse. In other words, the accusation was rather bias or unfair. So, what is the big deal here then?

In Numbers 18:20-32, the LORD has provided a system that could help the Levites and the priest through a system of tithe. One may ask why they need to provide for the Levites? Unlike the eleven tribes of Israel, only the tribe of Levi is exempted from having any portion in the promised land for they have been redeemed by the LORD in place of the the rest of the Israel’s firstborn. In other words, the tribe of Levi has been made holy (set apart) so that God’s wrath does not fall on the community. This is to remind them of how the LORD has slain every firstborn on the land of Egypt as well as it is a decree by God that no one should come empty-handed before Him (Exodus 34:20).

If we dive into the logic of such stern decree, then we would understand the reason of giving among the community of God. Understand this, the people of Israel just left Egypt, the comfort of having roof over their heads and beds to lie on after a dreadful long day. Now, the people is travelling to the unknown, trusting their leader; Moses, and their God; YHWH, to lead and provide for them. We know that throughout their long journey, God did provided for them (manna and quill), but, we also know that they did not leave Egypt empty handed either (Exodus 12:31-42). With that in mind, we should understand that, with a huge crowd making a move from a land to another land along with their heard of livestock, some may not have the privilege of having it all because they were required to leave in hurry.

In a stressful environment, it is proven to be hard to keep a level-headed. With no certainty of the destination and its distance as well as how long it will take to reach it. Plus with all the groaning and rebelling among the community, even a leader like Moses find it hard to keep the crowd together. So, through the law of giving, God demonstrates His justice and care equally to everyone by creating an offering system that serve two main purposes; to keep their mind focus on the goal of being God’s chosen people and also to provide for the need of their less fortunate brothers who left Egypt without any livestock. Certainly Moses and Aaron would not mind eating the manna all the time but one particular tribe will have trouble, and that is the tribe of Levi. So, God redeemed them for the work of His tabernacle (and later temple) to serve as a perpetual reminder of every firstborn belongs to the LORD and also to remind the people that the LORD will provide for the people through the people.

In today’s age, this kind of ideal will face a lot of opposition simply because of how the world perceive justice or fairness and equality. People will be adamant to give their portion for those who do not have a designated portion for the world revolves around the idea that “you need to earn your living.” Because of this, the church suffer from the decreasing pattern of giving especially during this pandemic since the church fails to operate on a frequent basis. No operation means no deserving “giving” since the people does not receive anything on their ends. Because of such “transactional” relationship in this day of age, people of God missing the two major main points of giving; reminder of being God’s people and provided for the less fortunate.

Being God’s people or Christian for that matter, is not merely having your status written on the identity card nor having in registered in the electoral role of the church. Being the people of God would also mean that the identity does not come without any sacrifice made by the individual and also by God, hence, being a Christian is equal to making a covenant between yourself and God. And covenant making requires sacrifice. On God’s side, the sacrifice made in the form of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross to redeem us of our sin. On our side, the sacrifice made or to be made is by forsaking a portion of us (denying oneself or giving a tenth of our earnings to God). If we calculate it carefully, it seems that God is on the losing end of the deal because while God providing a hundred percent to us plus His Son, He only require of us to give a tenth of the wealth but everything on our devotion.

Now, this is where our tenth of earnings being used. It is to provide for those who has given their lives for God’s service, setting themselves apart from the rest of the world in order to focus entirely on God and His people, and also providing for the less fortunate within God’s earthly kingdom. I do not think that it is necessary for me to provide every little details of the priestly duty nowadays but I do believe that it is important for us to know that while we may be different in term of races as well as belief, but we are all, as far as God’s concern, are His children. We are all created in His image. Because of this, it is only right for us to give in order to help our fellow human. The reality is, though we are all born as human, but in this broken world, some are better of than the other. Exalted status of wealth, however, does not mean that the wealth entirely belongs to you (though you did earn it through your hard work). It only means that God has blessed you in order for you to bless others. That is how God’s blessing work.

Certainly we may view this to be unfair. But, if we truly believe that we does not born on this world by our own effort, then, we should too believe that for every blessings provided, it also a way to provide to others too. But, of course nowadays the tenth of our earnings may not be necessarily the way of giving but rather we are encourage to give more if not everything. Giving is not merely for the sake of giving but the ultimate goal of the giving should be to take concerns on the justice and mercy for the community around us (Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42). By understanding that, then only we can reason with the reason of why God being so indignant to a point of accusing the people robbing Him. It also helpful for us to give as an expression of love towards Him and His people, as we are called to be.

Photo credit to TheThreeTomatoes.com