ROBIN HOOD'S MORAL DILEMMA

ROBIN HOOD'S MORAL DILEMMA Malachi 3:6-12 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; To Tithe or Not To Tithe (House2Hourse Magazine Issue 6); Ron Blue, Generous Living;; George Barna, Leaders on Leadership March 14, 2004 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory When I was a boy one of the most endearing fictional heroes was Robin Hood. Literally dozens of books were around detailing the wondrous adventures of the daring mythical man in green. But when I was about three years old we got our first television set, and it was there on that round 15" screen with live-action, black & white characters that the hero of Sherwood Forest really came alive for me. With his band of merry men, Friar Tuck, Little John and the others, and his uncanny knack of escaping the soldiers of the Sheriff of Nottingham and charming Maid Marian, Robin Hood held me spellbound. In my young mind, though, the thing I couldn't completely understand, but was nevertheless fascinated with, was Robin Hood's mission statement. Though several motives drove the Prince of Thieves, his mission, carefully put forth on the weekly program was to "rob from the rich and give to the poor." What a man! What a novel idea! Turns out, that particular mission was never part of the original 17th century myths, but it's one of those fascinating stories that adapts to every generation. The whole idea of helping the downtrodden poor by taking from the rich who were always cast as priggish, self-centered snobs, was a very attractive notion to a young boy. Reflecting on Robin Hood recently, I realized that I had been sold a bill of goods as a kid. He wasn't a hero! He was a bad guy! He certainly was charismatic and charming, but he was a thief! There were four mistaken notions in the sinister philosophy of this highwayman and his hijinks. 1. He might have convinced himself what he was doing was right, but he was still stealing, and stealing is always wrong. 2. Though he took it on himself to care for the poor, he forgot that the King can take care of the needs of the poor. 3. When someone defies the rule of the King, he is trying to make himself king. No kingdom runs well with rampant anarchy. 4. The King knows best. I think these principles might be helpful to us as we consider another case of ongoing robbery. This one wasn't fictional, though. Nor was it set in 17th century England. This thievery was occurring on a widespread basis among the otherwise faithful and loyal subjects of the King in approximately 650 B.C. The Text - 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. "The all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the Lord Almighty." Speaking through His trusted prophet Malachi, God brings a charge of treason before His people. He accuses them of behaving like Robin Hoods. Like the thief of yore, the Israelites had convinced themselves they were righteous and were good subjects of His divine kingdom. So the Lord brings them a reminder that their rogue-ish behavior was contrary to His will and their best interests. Like we often do, the Israelites were living under a delusion. They thought that because they were not undergoing any particular hardship they were fine with God. In verses 6-7, God reminds them that the only reason they were doing well was because of His gracious protection. "I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." (verses 6) You  think you're doing well, but the relative peace you are living in is not evidence that you are being loyal to me. In fact, He says, you have wandered away from me by not doing my will. That sort of reminds me of our precarious place as a nation. We are living under the awesome protection and blessing of God, but we have forgotten Him. From the courts to the classrooms, from boardrooms to bedrooms, from materialistic hedonism to militant homosexuality, we have forgotten God and His Word. Yet we rest blindly complacent in a stupor of self-imposed deception that all is well with America, and God (if there is one) must be happy with us because all-in-all things are fine. But in a hundred ways He is reminding us that we are not okay, and that the peace and prosperity that we enjoy is only by His grace. It is certainly not something we have earned. He is telling us, no less than He did the hapless Israelites, that we have been lulled to sleep and anesthetized by our complacency. We've disobeyed ourselves into a deadly distance from Him. As evidence of their narcotic spiritual state and moral dullness, when God tells the Israelites they are in rebellion and need to return to Him, they respond with shocked disbelief. "How are we to return?"(verses 7) Aren't we already your people? What do you mean? It's much like what we run into when we try to bring the gospel to people, saying that Christ has paid the debt for their sins and they can now be reconciled to God. What sins? What debt? God who? Who says Christ is the only way? I'm fine, don't bother me! The real tragedy is when God's own people don't recognize the distance there is between them and Him. These are the Israelites Malachi is speaking to, the chosen people, the stewards of His law, the light to the Gentiles! Instead of being alert to their spiritually catatonic state, they are smugly satisfied, and they register surprise, even annoyance, when God tells them they're wrong and they need to get right with Him. What do you mean, return to you? God brings them one clear indictment as an example of their disobedience to Him: robbery. "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me." (verses 8) I am your provider, the source of all your blessings, the reason you have survived and even thrived. But you are embezzling from me. Again, the stupefied response, "How do we rob you?" (verses 8) And finally God brings the charge to His people openly and specifically. This is where disobedience and thievery meet. "...In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me." (verses 8-9) Their self-imposed ignorance vanishes when the Lord said tithes and offerings. Every Jew knew the law concerning the tenth that belonged to God. In an instant they were reminded of their spiritual lethargy, their thoughtless disregard for this paramount command of God, that they give to Him the first and the best 10% of all their income, whether grain or livestock or silver. And how could they have grown indolent in this area? They prided themselves on tithing and giving offerings above the tithe. They were known as the most generous religious people around. The tithe was their one claim of spiritual accomplishment. But they had defaulted. They had grown selfish and forgetful. They had begun to ignore the imbedded truth of their faith-that God is the owner of all things; that all they have is on loan from God; and that God required the return of 10% as the one clear token of their devotion to Him. They had succumbed to the Robin Hood syndrome, stealing from the King. The difference was they were not giving to the poor. They were keeping it for themselves-an even more heinous motive. No wonder the King was stirred to wrath. His servants were pilfering, not by outright theft, but by withholding what was rightfully the King's. But it was still stealing, and it is always wrong to steal, especially from the King. Why do godly people act in stinginess toward Him? Part of the answer is it's very easy to slide into this complacency. Hey, I'm not feeling any pressure from God. He's not dunning me for offerings. The church is meeting the bills. I haven't felt any guilt over my giving lately. The mark of true godliness and spiritual maturity is giving generously to God, not because of guilt or coercion or even reminder, but because of obedience to His will and deep gratitude for what He has provided. But the other, more important, reason God's people grow negligent in the discipline of stewardship is because, like Robin Hood, they think they know better than the King where the money should go. He doesn't need it, and I feel like I do. Only part of that thinking is selfishness. The other part is a lack of trust in God's providence. Behind it all is an unwillingness to trust Him to provide. If I give the generous donations to God that I feel He wants me to, I won't be taken care of. When you and I start thinking that the King can't take care of our needs, we will inevitably get stingy. We'll take care of ourselves first. Then, if there is anything left, we will gladly give it to the Lord and His church. But once I am first, there is never much left for God. God knows our weakness. Therefore He commanded the Jews to give ten percent right off the top, before any thought for self-care. In that way He wanted them to trust Him to care for them. New Testament Christians who have tasted the kindness of the Lord in ways the Old Testament saints never could, have all the more reason to make generous offerings to the Lord, and to do it as of first importance. If we subsequently find that things are tight in our budgets, we can trust that God is providing all that we need, and He is also faithfully teaching us, disciplining us, that some of what we want is not best for us. Here is God's promise to His saints: "...seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 "...Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2 Corinthians 9:6 "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7 "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8 "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 Incidentally, I have heard personal testimonies from many of you concerning how, when you stretched yourself and started practicing tithing, God brought you blessings in many ways, even financially. That text in 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 is a reminder to us that the enlarged harvest we receive as a result of stretching in our giving is described as seed, not food. Remember, that what you receive from the Lord as a blessing because of your generosity is seed to be sown, not dessert to be eaten. Again, verse 11: "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion." We are always spiritually healthier when we are mindful that the King can take care of needs-our needs or the needs of the poor around us-far better than we can. And when we try to replace the King's wisdom with our own, we always mess things up. When we defy the King, we are trying to make ourselves king. That's nothing but devil-honoring pride. Give to the King and trust Him to provide. He's good at it. That's one of the many reasons He's King and we're not. When we withhold from Him, we may call it our discretion, but He calls it theft. The King knows best. He knows He built us for generosity. We're hard-wired in such a way that only when grateful generosity is a priority in our lives will we ever be truly happy and contented. He made us in His image, and He is the very definition of generosity. So it is not until we learn to give consistently, cheerfully and generously like He does that we will be fulfilled. For this reason the King sent out a decree to all His subjects, saying: "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:18-19. He warned the subjects of His kingdom: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21. Here's how it works. He gives to us generously of His limitless supply. And He instructs us, plant 10% of this first, as an investment for future blessings. Give it back to Me and demonstrate that you trust Me. Then you have My promise to lavishly provide for all your needs. But if you use if for yourself, ignoring my command, if you eat the seed instead of planting it, your supply will dry up quickly. There is a true story about a well somewhere deep in the desert of New Mexico. It is out where only a desperate person would find it. Next to the pump handle is a jar of water with a lid on it, shaded by a tiny lean-to. Nailed to the front of the lean-to is a note which says, Do not drink this water. It is needed to prime the pump. The pump has gaskets which need to be watered in order to pump water up out of the well. Trust me-there's plenty of water in the well. But in order to get the fresh water from the well, you must pour this water into the top of the pump. This will prime the pump and moisten the gaskets. Then you can pump all the water you want. But if you drink this water it is all you will have. P.S. Please fill the jar when finished for the next desperate traveler. Here is the most remarkable part of the prophecy of Malachi. "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," say the Lord Almighty. Then all the nations call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the Lord Almighty." (verses 10-12) First, He told the people to bring ALL the tithe into the storehouse. The definition of the word tithe (Hebrew MAASER) is "ten percent-the first ten percent" The word is used 32 times in the Old Testament and always means "one/tenth". The commandments regarding tithe were that a worshiper of the Lord should bring 10% of all he earns and generates in terms of crops and produce. The first ten percent belonged to the Lord. You can study the original commandments regarding tithing at Leviticus 27:30-33; Numbers 18:20-32; and Deuteronomy 14:22-29. Apparently, these people to whom Malachi addresses God's rebuke were holding back and not bringing all the tithe to the storehouse. The big question is always this one: Does the New Testament require Christians to tithe? The only honest answer is nowhere does the New Testament command believers to tithe. Then I am always asked, Pastor, what do you think of tithing? My answer is always this - I think it's a good place to start. I've practiced tithing since I was a very new Christian, and I think a follower of Christ ought to give the Lord at least ten percent of your income right off the top, before taxes. The place to begin is to answer a few key questions: 1. Do I honestly believe I adequately honor the Lord with the amount that I give? 2. Is my giving reflective of my gratitude for what the Lord has done for me? 3. Have I grown, stretched in the area of giving lately? 4. Am I reinvesting the blessings He gives me? 5. If everyone at MECF gave like I give, where would the church be? In his book, Generous Living, Ron Blue writes, "When I ask the question, How much is enough? Most people immediately start thinking about how much money they need to live on, or to save, or to achieve their long-term goals. These considerations are obviously important-especially as you set your lifestyle finish lines-but I want to challenge you to look at the question another way. How much is enough to give? Instead of asking yourself how much money you need and then trying to figure out how much you can give out of whatever's left over, flip-flop your perspective. Start by asking yourself how generous you want to be." The second half of verses 10 is astounding. Here is the Lord, the Master, Ruler, owner of all things, Who has given us everything we have on loan from Him, and He is making a promise to slacker givers. "Test me in this" He says. In other words, I double-dog dare you to take me up on this offer... He is making good on His earlier offer to His rebellious kids where He said in verses 7, "Return to me, and I will return to you..." He is essentially answering the people's question, "How are we to return?" (verses 7) What is His answer? Forget about what is past, and just start doing what you promised you'd do all along. Bring the first 10% to me. I don't need it-I am God and I own it all-I can take it all from you any time I want to. But bring the first ten to me. Let me bless you in that. In fact, let's get this commitment thing healed and we'll bring a blessing to all the nations of the earth (verses 12). Let me end on that point. What could God do, in the whole earth, with one single congregation of people who all decided that He is King, they are His subjects. A church full of people who all decided to stop being Robin Hood. A local church of people who got serious about God's offer and said, Yes we will return to You; Yes we will test You in this matter of tithing; Yes we will be generous in our giving? Amen. [Back to Top]