Spirit of Entitlement

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me", but you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse, the whole nation of you, because you are robbing me." Malachi 3:8-9

 

Are you one of those people who saves their coppers up through the week to put in the tithing box on a Sunday as their sole donation?

Are you one of those people who slyly slips only a couple of pound coins into the tithing envelope then deliberately fails to fill in the Gift Aid information so that your meagre offering cannot be traced back to you?

Are you one of those people that suffers a bladder weakness which only occurs when the tithing box is fast approaching your seat?

Are you one of those people that refuses to tithe but expects to profit from the offering in some way?

Are you one of those people that puts nothing in the tithing box week in week out because you have tricked those around you into believing that you have a standing order set up?

 

All this has got to stop! Right here, right now! You may be pulling the wool over the eyes of those around you but God has an all-seeing eye and He knows exactly what you are doing; you are stealing from Him. And whilst you are stealing and being deceitful, you will never be at one with Him.

Tithing has been practised since way back in the Old Testament, in times when people had very little, but gladly gave. If they could tithe then what should we be doing by grace now? Tithing is not outdated and it is not old fashioned. It is a timeless act of giving that we have been instructed to do in the Bible. Church pastors need to follow this up by regularly offering teaching on tithing.

You need to have a rethink and get on the giving side of life. An abundant and wholesome life does not comprise of just take, take, take. You need to stop being a taker and become a giver. God expects you to give, and by giving you are being faithful to and honouring the Lord your God.

God is a giver. He leads by example, which is what you should do to dubious members in your church. God gave is "one and only Son so that we might live". This is the ultimate gift, and if God can make such a huge sacrifice you then you should not fight against tithing.

An abundant life is not about take, take, take. It's about give, give, give. Spiritually you will receive very little with a 'take' mentality, but the act of giving is abundantly fruitful and will fill you with joy, peace and satisfaction.

I would estimate that those most likely to shirk the tithe box are the same people who claim social benefits on a large scale, probably also fraudulently driven by greed. A greedy person will not part their ill gotten money easily. They believe that they have a God-given right to hang on to every single penny. The household income of these tithing shirkers is often higher than that of a hard-working, blue collar household, which could, if allowed to could serve as a slap in the face. But these workers choose employment so that they can take part in the running of society and have some self worth. These people will be happy givers. They may not earn a lot of money each week but in their budget plans, tithing will be near the top of the list.

The Christian working family will expect nothing off nobody and on the occasion that they are gifted with something, they will show great humility. The fraudulent claimants family will carry a spirit of entitlement whereby they expect everything that they need, and more, to be placed in their laps by others. They will not seek an honourable way. If something is not given to them, as they believe is their right, then they will begin to use underhanded tactics whilst in cahoots with the devil. The devil will never, ever encourage you to get a job and live a truthful life.

You must not fall weak at the devil's knees and accept his crooked plans for your life. Say to yourself, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'. Say it over and over, day in day out. This will strengthen you to move out of a 'get, get, get' mentality and make way for you to learn how to not just give, but to be a happy giver.

Getting rid of your spirit of entitlement and starting to lead a giving life will allow you to draw nearer to God. As you get closer to Him, you will begin to see how good God is to you, and the more you see this the more you will want to get involved in not just giving of money, but giving of your time, services and energy too.