Proverbs 11: Whose money is it anyway?

As we progress through the Book of Proverbs (btw I have been using King James Version throughout the blogging), I am finding it increasingly difficult to pick choice verses to talk about. I could rightly post an entire chapter beginning with 10 and going forward and fill everyone with the exact wisdom contained within. Honestly, if I get tired of writing-maybe that'll be the way to go. 


In all seriousness though, I have gone through, as I have been doing previously, and chosen verses that speak to me at the time of reading. There are many great verses contained within all of the Chapters of Proverbs, and I would encourage you all to read them at your leisure. In the meantime, if you're still with me on this blogging journey for the month of January, I will have select passages to discuss. 


"Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from  death." Proverbs 11:4


Let's begin here. I don't know many rich people. I know people who have comfortable amounts of money and never seem to be wanting. But, I don't know any RICH people. Juliet and I had been gradually deepening our debt over our 4 years of marriage, until we finally committed to a program and plan to eliminate the debt, and form a healthier budget. Part of that means that as soon as I receive our check, I take 10% and set it aside for tithing. I was big on fighting tithing from the get go. I had a professor who pointed out that "Technically" it never says anything about 10% in the Bible. As it turns out, as far back as Genesis, Jacob makes a tithe to the Lord. 


"And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." Genesis 28:20-22


And so, after hearing a particularly riveting message from my Pastor Paul podcasts, I decided it was about time Juliet and I started giving back to the one who has blessed us with so much. And don't get me wrong, when I say so much, I am talking in much more than money. We have had what we needed when we needed it. I used to wonder why we couldn't just win the lottery. We had such high aspirations and charitable things to do with it. As it turns out--we are certainly not ready for that kind of money if we cannot even be faithful with that which was already given to us. 


I would have liked to start tithing back when we were struggling as a sign of our faith. We gave here and there, but mostly justified not tithing by saying we needed groceries. Then we would go out to eat---so..ya. 


There is the story in the New Testament, Acts I believe, with the couple who withheld their tithe, but lied directly to Peter about how much they had given. At first glance the judgment here will seem harsh, as they both were struck dead because of it. To understand the context, we need to begin in Acts chapter 4. 


"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common." Acts 4:32


During this time in church history, believers often were in a communal atmosphere. Each believer shared what was his own so that none would go wanting. Acts 4 verse 34 continues: "Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." Acts 4:34-35


At the end of Chapter 4, we are shown that Barnabus (who I think is the same one who joined Paul on his first missionary journey) sold land and laid it at the apostles' feet. 


NOW we come to Chapter 5 and the story of Ananias and Sappphira. These were believers with the early church, and likely had all knowledge of the shared property amongst believers. We are told they sold property and rather than bringing all of the money from the sale, they set some aside, secretly, for themselves. God speaks to Peter and lets him in on their little scam, and Peter confronts Ananias first. 


Peter said, "Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" Acts 5:3
"...thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" Acts 5:4 in part. Immediately after, Ananias "gave up the ghost" and the multitude of people fears because of what has happened. 


Now, it says three hours later, after hearing of her husband's demise, Sapphira comes in and Peter addresses her. 


Peter says, "Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have tried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out." Acts 5:8-9


So, even after knowing what had happened to her husband, Sapphira continues to deny setting a portion of the price back for themselves. Friends, it does not do any one of us well to try to hide our sins from God. Now, I am not going to say that sort of thing continues in this day, as the church has plenty of resources and believers do not commonly still rely on each other solely for support. But, we must ask ourselves, whose money is it anyway? 


Even before cash tithing, people were offering to God portions of their best meat/land/cattle/etc...We were created by God to serve God, and I submit to you that all we have is truly His. We are but borrowers, watching over possessions for a time. With that in mind, it is right to honor God with a gift. Obviously He doesn't need money or possessions for us. It is the act of sacrificing a portion of what we have to honor He who gave it to us. 


Therefore, after battling scripture and trying to prove that you didn't technically have to tithe 10%, I realized it was not about how much anyway. I believe now that a tenth, or 10% of everything earned should be tithed, but I think it is the act of giving that is more important. Certainly one could give more than a tenth if so lead. 


Which is a roundabout way of getting back to the Proverb from above, which I will write again for the reader's benefit of not having to scroll back up. 


"Riches profit not in the day of watch: but righteousness delivereth from death." 11:4.
Also
"He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it." Proverbs 11:26


Friends, we cannot take our money and possessions with us when we die. When we stand before God someday (and ALL of us will-belive it or not), all we will have is what we did with what was given to us. There will be no bribing God. Without mediation of Christ, there would be no standing before God to begin with. How have you handled that which was given to you? This includes God-given abilities and talents. Everyone has something to offer to the kingdom of God, even a smile sometimes. Church greeters with friendly smiles, greeting people of God, are just as valuable as the musicians leading the service, the pastor preaching or the Pope hanging out in Rome doing whatever he currently does. 


The parable of the talents is a good reference point for this. Without jumping into it too much, basically, it as a parable about God going away for a time (the master) and leaving each of his servants (us) an amount of money to watch over while he is away. Two of the servants makes use of the "talents" and are able to stand before the master having given Him a return on what He gave. The third servant was lazy and buried his "talent" in the ground. Effectively, he not only gave back exactly what was given to him by the Master, but he got it dirty first. Yikes! 


I wasn't going to make this post about tithing, but as Christians I believe now it is very important to consider what you can give back to God for all He has given you. To those entrusted with much, much is required. We are all on our own in this regard. God may have blessed you with tons of money, but he expects you to do that much more good with it. He has given Juliet and I what we need to get by, and expects accordingly. This year, finally, we know where we stand, and so far I have stuck to what I said about giving back. 


Consider how you are furthering God's kingdom. Do you have a talent that you are using in a way that doesn't actually benefit anyone but yourself? How could you apply that to serving God? 


We all need Christ's sacrifice to cover us. Once covered, he is the great mediator for us before God. Saved or not, we will give an account of our works-and the Bible says that even for believers, those works that are not fruitful will be burned away. 


I don't know about you, but I would much rather have my works refined by the fire, as opposed to being burned up- and receive my crown to lay back at His feet--an offering to show to whom the glory really belongs. 

Anyone been Mr. Talmadge before?
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I found a link a few days ago that was very well written regarding how we are to read the Bible. I hope you will consider setting aside a half hour or so (depending on reading speed) to take a look at it. It is the best writing on this particular subject that I have found thus far, and is beneficial to anyone looking to really understand the Bible and what it contains---yes even skeptics may find this useful-- I am including the link below, and it is also listed in my "Favorite links" section of the blog.


http://www.bible-truth.org/Principles.htm  - Principles of Bible Interpretation