A Question of Generosity: Returning or Robbing

Passage: Malachi 3:6-12

Billy Graham once said, "Your checkbook (we might say today, your credit card statement) is a theological document." It is an indicator of who or what you worship. Jesus put it like this, "where your treasure is, there your heart is will be also." (Matt. 6:21). How we view and relate to money and possessions says a great deal about how we view and relate to God. Indeed, as God confronts his people through the prophet Malachi and calls them to return to him in faith and obedience, the indication he gives of their wandering hearts is their failure to give the first fruits of their harvest and labors to the Lord and his work. God sees this not just as a lack of stewardship, but as robbery against him. Such strong words, however, are not just meant to rebuke, but to lead his people to return and be restored in love to him, and to receive the abundant provision and blessings of his promises. And as God says of himself, he does not change, and he calls us to put him to the test. If you wonder if your heart is wandering from devotion to the Lord, a good way to check is your "checkbook." Join us Sunday as we continue in Malachi and see God address a question of generosity.