God For Hire

And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.  Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my fathers house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.  And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be Gods house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to you."
Genesis 28: 19-22 NKJV

Sometimes I wonder just how people see God.  Do we see our Lord as he is, as our loving and gracious creator, Lord of all, who's love and mercy ensuredd our very salvation?  Or do we see God simply as a provider for us in our time of need?   Dare I say that He is indeed all of these and more.  To some, God is highly personal to their everyday life.  To others, He is simply there as someone who is there to catch us when we fall.  However, I feel that this a slippery slope should we choose to climb it.  For if we intend to see scripture as Gods holy, written word, then we also need be ready to accept all that it says about Him.  There is no double standard with God.  He was, is and forever will be...God.  He is not just one to turn to when things get bad, but He is forever our companion as we walk through our day.  Knowing this, can we honestly believe that God is only there for us when we need Him?  That somehow we are independent of He who created us?  As my friend Dennis is so fond of saying, and he is correct in doing so, there is only ONE independent self, and that is God Himself.  For all that surrounds us was not independent of God, but was indeed created by Him.  I mention this to somehow get to the bottom of the belief that we can somehow "Buy" our Lords favor through tithes and offerings or our own good behavior.  For God is not just a holy loan shark!  His love and thoughts are with His children always.

 
For as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:  TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.  Therefore, the one whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:  "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.  Nor is He worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath and all things.  And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and boundries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him, htough He is not far from each one of us; for in him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'for we are also His offspring.'  Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Devine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising."
Acts 17: 23-29 NKJV

So, considering the apostle Pauls oration in Acts 17, can we ever say that we ourselves can ever give or provide anything to God?  And yet, we often hear from one pulpit pounder to another that in order for us to receive our Lords favor, that we must first prove ourselves worthy through our tithes and offerings.  The call to "Give until it hurts!" is said to ensure our Lords blessing.  Let me just say that our Lord DELIGHTS in blessing His children regardless of how much or even if they tithe.  The very idea of the tithe is steeped in the Old Testament tradition of providing for the Levite priesthood in Isreal.  See, back then the Levites were forbidden to work, which left them free to devote their time to the ministering of the Isrealite people.  Therefore, it was proclaimed that the people should tithe offerings in order to support the Levite priests.  I may be wrong in my assumption, but I haven't seen a Levite priest lately.  Instead, what I do see are countless pastors and church leaders proclaiming the need for their congregations to tithe to support them.  Now, let me make the controversial statement that the pastors of today ARE NOT Levite priests!  Therefore, while it may be needed for a congregation to provide for a pastors basic needs, these needs should not include elaborate church buildings and multi million dollar earning men of the cloth!
God, the Lord of all which is seen and unseen, is  not influenced by how much one gives to the church coffers.  If this were so, our very salvation could be bought and sold like a stock market share.  He is  a God of love, mercy and forgiveness, not a God for hire.

~Scott~