I admit it; I’m a thief. When I was about five years old and bored in a grocery store, I decided to look at the candy in the bulk section. Each scuffed plastic bin was filled with dazzling, sugar-covered, mouth-watering candies of all different shapes and sizes.
As I hovered over the bins, staring at the gummies and chocolates locked behind the price tag on the lid, I knew my parents would never let me have these amazing treats. I peeked around the display, making sure no adults were nearby. Then I delicately lifted one of the plastic lids, plucked up a gummy from the top of the pile, and popped it into my mouth.
Of course, taking that candy from the store was wrong. No matter what my age or how little I stole, I still stole. Although I had the candy in my fingers, I didn’t own it. The store proprietor owned the candy, and it was wrong for me to take what did not belong to me.
Similarly, everything we have belongs to God. He’s given us our bodies, talents, and material wealth. Because He made the universe, everything in it is His by right. But because of His love for us, the Lord has given us a small part to steward for Him.
However, God warns us in Malachi that we can rob Him. What we have might seem like ours because we were born with or earned it, but God has lent everything. While we should appreciate what God has given us, we shouldn’t try to keep it for ourselves when God asks for some of it back.
God accused His people of robbing Him by refusing to offer tithes. The same can be true for us today. Trying to keep our money or time from God is stealing, just like taking candy from a store owner.
Instead of using all God has lent you selfishly, remember not to rob God. Give back what is rightfully His.
Maeven Winstead is a professional writing major, trying to improve her writing skills and serve God. Her two favorite books of the Bible are Ecclesiastes and Revelation, and one of her favorite passages is Job 40–41. One day, she hopes to go on a paleontology dig.