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Are You Robbing God?

Are You Robbing God?

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by Dan Jones, M.D.

Malachi 3:6-12

"I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty.

"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'

"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. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

Do you struggle with remaining faithful to God and believing He will remain faithful to you?  In the relationship between God and the people of Israel, we see the same day-to-day struggle we face in our spiritual lives.  The Israelites drifted from God and He always sought to restore the relationship.

In this passage, we see that the people of God were robbing Him by not giving their tithes and offerings.  God challenges the Israelites to "test me" to see if I will not be faithful to provide for you if you will be faithful to me.

Just as the Israelites struggled in their commitment to God, it is easy for us today to drift away, especially, for those of us in the health professions.  Life comes at a hectic pace.  Long hours leave us fatigued and wanting rest.  Add to this the financial pressures of practice, the frustration of high taxes on the money we earn, and we easily slip into a life focused on self and not on God.  It becomes easy to slip into robbing God without being aware of it, just as the Israelites did years ago. 

How do we rob God?  Some of us are robbing Him of our tithes and offerings as noted in the scripture here.  We also rob him when we focus our lives inwardly through priorities of money and time for self.  We rob Him when we fail to seek His guidance in life decisions.  And we rob Him when we don't give Him the time in Bible study, prayer, and worship that He deserves.

Early in my career, I found myself in a situation taking call every night for months without a break.  While serving my patients by being available was a "good thing", this situation led to fatigue and frustration that removed much of the joy of my professional and personal life.  During this busy time, without realizing it, I began to rob God of my time, my energy, and my attitude.  Thankfully, as He did with the people of Israel, God sought me out and brought me back to a balanced relationship.

Lord, forgive us when we rob you of what is rightfully yours.  Make us good stewards of our time and resources.  Help me to test you today by being faithful to you.


Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.

Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu

Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.

Photo by José Martín Ramírez Carrasco on Unsplash

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