The Bible tells us that no one can steal from heaven's storerooms. In Matthew 6:19-20, the Lord Jesus Himself told us to store our treasure there:
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."
That said, would you believe me if I told you that a Christian can rob God? This might sound unbelievable to you, but many of us have experienced robbing God ourselves. How do we do it?
By not giving God what He is due: our tithes.
Tithing and robbing
So many Christians dispute the legality or validity of tithing. Some think that it's no longer required by God because it's not mentioned in the New Testament and because Christ Himself did not teach it. Well, it's an Old Testament command that Christ did not break or nullify. Keep in mind that He said,
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17)
It might not be mentioned in the New Testament, but the command remains: we rob God when we withhold our tithes from Him. Malachi 3:8 tells us,
"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings."
A tithe is but a little of all that we are given. It's a "tenth of everything" that we receive from God (see Genesis 14:20). God commands us to give this to Him because it's for something very, very important. And He doesn't command us to give it because He wants us poor; rather, He wants us to trust in Him to bless us with so much:
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the Lord of hosts;" (Malachi 3:10-11)
What it's for
Malachi 3:10 tells us that the tithe we give is so that there'd be "food" in God's house. It's so that priests and levites could focus on their work in the temple with no need to look for their provisions outside.
In today's time, it's so that those who labor in preaching the Gospel and teaching the word of God can simply focus on doing the work of God with no worry as to where to get daily provisions.
What Christ said
Christ may not have directly said that we should tithe, but He did tell us something far greater compared to giving ten percent of what we have: our whole being.
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25)
The Lord Jesus wants us to go beyond giving God a small part of our possessions. He wants us to give all that we have for the sake of following Him. If we do this, ten percent becomes a trivial thing to us - because we have dedicated ourselves to the Lord, finances and all.
So, can a Christian rob God? Yes. By not giving God what is due to Him: our tithes and our lives.
"Render ... to God the things that are God's." (see Matthew 22:21)
