SEP 9

Malachi 3:8-12
Memorise Malachi 3:8
“honour the LORD with thy substance…”

When we consider the topic of stealing, we must realise that aside from stealing from other people, there is one whom we are all guilty of stealing from – and that is the Lord God our Creator. There are many ways, in which we have robbed God, stealing from Him that which is rightfully His.

You see, we must have the right perspective towards everything that we count as ours. In fact, nothing we have is really our own, it is all God’s. Our money, time and talents, even our whole life belongs to God. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s”. God has saved us, bought us with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore our life is not ours to do whatever we want with it, but ought to be devoted to service Him, doing all we can to glorify Him.

In Malachi 3:8, the people of Israel were rebuked for having robbed God, in withholding from God their sacrifices and offerings. They were to offer to God the best of their cattle and harvests, and to abide by all the laws related to the temple offerings. However, they saw it as a waste to give to God, and instead kept all those for themselves. In so doing, they showed a heart that cared only for self, and did not realise that all they had was God’s, and ought to be freely offered back to Him.

Through the Bible, God reveals to us many things that we should do, many ways in which we can honour Him, and many requirements that we ought to abide by. However, often times we fail to meet up to God’s standards. We perceive the time that we have to be ours, and wantonly spend it any way we like to; we hoard the money and possessions that we have, continually lusting after more, but never willing to give any to God; we abuse the talents and abilities that God has blessed us with, but hardly use it to serve Him. In all these many ways, we have robbed God. Dear Teen, have you been robbing God of what He requires from you? Have you been selfishly withholding your time, talents and possessions for your own enjoyment?

Thought: It’s terrible to rob from God who has given me so much.
Prayer: Lord, may You help me to realise that I have been so richly blessed by Thee, and that I should freely give back all I can to You.