DEVELOP A CREATIVE SPIRIT
The Eighth Commandment
“You Shall Not Steal”—Exodus 20:15.
Social Perceptions
This commandment is a directive that people generally understand. Stealing is so obviously wrong that in the eyes of many people there is no need for any exposition. Stealing is simply taking something without asking.
However, in some cultures children are encouraged to steal. The gypsy culture is renowned for cultivating thieves. The gypsies are not the only ones who treat thieving as a way of life. Anthropologists have reported stealing to be a foreign concept among various primitive groups they have studied. People from these tribes take, eat, drink, and use whatever happens to be within their grasp, but find themselves in trouble when encountering more sophisticated cultures.
The concept of “stealing a look” may also get us into trouble, or it may not, depending on the jurisdiction in which we live. In certain jurisdictions, this may be classified as being a Peeping Tom. In other parts of the world, we might not be peeping through anybody’s window, or through a hole in a fence, or from behind a bush, or through a crack in a wall to find ourselves in trouble. We might just be looking at what somebody is doing, and it happens to be a government official going about their business and wants no witnesses, or it might be a criminal deal going down by lawbreakers who also disapprove of onlookers. We might encounter a thief on the job, who takes the view that anybody without permission to watch is stealing.
Generally, stealing is frowned upon in society, except when it comes to sport. Football and basketball players all steal the ball from opposing players, and this is part of the fun of the game. When it comes to baseball, everyone thinks it is all right for a player to steal a base, except the side that is losing any advantage it might have because of the base being stolen. Hockey players “steal” the puck of the opposing player, which results in disapproval or approval, depending upon the team being played for, or which team is being cheered to win; being on the losing side is no fun.
This anomaly about stealing actually tells us something about people’s attitudes towards other people taking that to which they have no lawful right. In the game of baseball, the fans and fellow players like the idea of a player stealing a base, as long as he does not get caught. This attitude is not just restricted to the sporting arena. It appears to be a commonplace attitude within society. Stealing, while generally disapproved, appears to be acceptable to some people as long as no one steals from them. Some people have the view that stealing is okay if it is from their workplace, or a bank or a government department. If some of their friends know about their stealing, this does not appear to be a matter for concern, as long as the person does not get caught in the act. However, if a person is caught and branded a thief, the person is considered a fool for having stolen in the first place, and is likely to be ostracized. Stealing does not appear to be viewed as the crime; being caught is the crime. In secular western societies, there seems to be an acceptance of stealing from those who are perceived to have plenty, as long as a person does not acquire a criminal record.
The concept of people playing Robin Hood and stealing from the rich to give to the poor, and paying themselves from the proceeds, seems to find acceptance in the eyes of the multitude because of the way society is structured. In years gone by, royalty or nobles seemed to have had all the money and wealth. Meanwhile the majority of people were peasants, who worked for a pittance as subsistence farmers on land that was owned by their overseers, who were often ruthless in dealing with their subjects. Consequently, a mythical rogue like Robin Hood is portrayed as a hero who helped the downtrodden and victimized workers of the land. Hence, stealing is often seen by many as a form of robbing the rich to pay the poor the wages they were denied.
The Public Purse
Today, people see nothing wrong with defrauding the government because this is where the public treasury is kept and, besides, the public purse is funded by taxing the people of the land. Not paying tax or finding means by which to pay as little tax as possible is big business in the sophisticated financial world of today. The richest man in Australia once had to face a panel of numerous government officials as they inquired into his financial dealings. They wanted to know how much money was being channeled through his use of tax havens, because he evidently was not paying as much tax as a man of his means should have been. In fact, as the wealthiest man in Australia, he and his companies were paying only one fifth of the tax that the officials felt he should have been paying. Australia’s richest man told them that he made sure that he paid as little tax as possible because he saw no just cause in giving his money to the government, so economically irresponsible employees, like those questioning him, could waste it on unproductive activities.
It is argued that law-abiding citizens pay their tax and the rich get their businesses and perks subsidized by the government. Many simply believe the taxation laws that exist are structured to allow the rich to get richer, and the poor to become poorer. Yet in some countries, there is a welfare system that is very generous to those who are not employed, and while they might be considered to be living below the poverty line, they are in fact more well-off than the majority of people in the world have ever been. They do not pay tax, and they do not have to work long hours or live in impoverished villages without the luxury of running water by merely turning a tap; or without the luxury of electricity by flicking a switch; or without the luxury of cooking with gas by twisting a knob. Since these individuals live on welfare and do not pay income tax, many workers, who pay tax, see these welfare recipients, not so much as living off the government, but stealing from themselves indirectly.
The Principle of the Tithe
At the time the Ten Commandments were given, taxes were being collected in different kingdoms of the world, but the Israelite leaders were not to tax their people. A different system was put in place. The Israelites were given the principle of the tithe, which was not so much a tax, but rather a means by which they could support a priesthood that brought sacrifices to God on behalf of the people and instructed them about the truths of life. Interestingly, we read in the book of Malachi, chapter three, that those who did not pay the tithe were stealing from God. Because of this, it might be said that people who do not pay taxes are stealing from the government authorities or from those who receive tax as their dues.
The Apostle Paul writes:
“For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed (Romans 13:6-7).
Taken at face value, we can conclude that not paying taxes is stealing, the same as not bringing in tithes to support the priesthood is stealing. However, there are arguments for and against paying taxes and giving a tenth of your income to support those devoted to the work of God.
Jesus’ Teaching on Taxation
Jesus said that we are to give to Caesar what belongs to him. When he was challenged to pay his tax as a subject of the Roman Empire, Jesus simply caught a fish that had in its stomach a gold coin, which was sufficient to pay the tax. The principle then becomes, when the taxman wants his tax, simply believe in God to provide the money for paying your tax (Mark 11:23-25).
Stanley Tam, founder of United States Plastic Corporation, has testified that God meets a person’s needs when it comes to taxation. Stanley was in the position where the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decided to collect tax revenue that he did not have—the kind of money with which we buy houses and motels. Stanley Tam faced bankruptcy, but God intervened on his behalf and, as they say, the rest is history.
The Tithe of Abraham Confirmed by Jesus
When it comes to supporting people devoted to the work of God, it should not be too difficult, nor a problem, to tithe. Some will argue that this is Old Testament teaching, but Jesus Himself said that tithing was not to be neglected (Matthew 23:23). Besides, true Christians are by faith, children of Abraham (Rom. 4:16; Gal. 3:29) and according to Jesus, if we are a child of Abraham, we will do what Abraham did (John 8:39). Abraham tithed and partook of communion in the form of bread and wine. This is found in the book of Genesis:
“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share” (Genesis 14:18-24).Some people claim that what Abraham tithed was only the spoils he got from the kings that he and the king of Sodom defeated; therefore, this disqualifies any requirement to tithe today. However, you will notice that Abraham (known as Abram then) refused to take any of the spoils. For if Abraham had, the implication would be that he tithed of the spoils and on behalf of others also. Firstly, we tithe on behalf of ourselves, not others, because every person is responsible to God for his or her own self. Secondly, if Abraham tithed of his spoils, they were not the spoils of war because he took none. Thirdly, the fact Abraham tithed everything implies and includes spoils that Abraham had gotten from Pharaoh (Genesis 12:15-16; 13:2) of which he kept. Abraham was very rich when he left Egypt and he desired to honor God, not man; a fact that seems to elude many interpreters of the Bible.
It stands to reason then that not tithing is still robbing God, even though this is not explicitly stated as a requirement for God’s people in the New Testament, as it was in the Old Testament concerning the Levites. There is no suggestion in the Bible that tithing has been abolished as a means of supporting the full-time workers in ministry, for it is something that Abraham did before the Mosaic Covenant was introduced, and God does not change in His requirements, as the Word of God states:
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, “How shall we return?” Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing” (Malachi 3:6-10 NRSV).
God Himself does not need our tithe, but He requires that we give Him a chance to prove Himself in our lives.
People steal from God by not giving Him a chance to prove Himself in their lives. This is a strange concept for us, because we do not think in terms of letting people have a right to our lives. But the truth is God Himself does not need our tithe; He only requires that we give Him a chance to prove Himself in our lives.
If we look at this idea from the view of being a member of a family, we start to see things a little differently. Children always believe that they have a right to their parents. Likewise, parents always believe that they have a right to participate in their children’s lives. However, God is seeking our permission to enter into a relationship with us. We need to say, “Yes!” to our Heavenly Father, first.
In Canada and Australia there have been apologies made to the indigenous people on behalf of churches and the governments for the atrocities committed to their people many moons ago by removing children from their tribal communities. Some have even apologized for stealing the rights of the children to their parents and those of the parents to the children. In Australia, the government apologized on behalf of previous generations having stolen a generation of Aborigines.
God has a right to enjoy His Creation here on Earth; only it has been stolen from Him. However, unlike the human idea of apologizing for a stolen generation, where descendants are rewarded on behalf of the sins of the colonizing fathers, God does things differently. This is because God wants to have a personal relationship with every one of us. A personal relationship is something that is special; a relationship where each one grows in appreciation of the other—that is, God and you.
If we rob God of having a personal relationship with us, we also rob God of the glory that is rightfully His, because we do not give Him the opportunity to demonstrate His greatness and show His loving-kindness towards us. God looks at us as individuals who are unique. God does not want us to be like swine at the trough, where there is no difference from one to another and everybody pushes and grunts like pigs. God desires every one of us to participate in our own unique relationship that is special to Him, which develops as we grow in appreciation of how much He loves us through the act of giving—by means of the tithe.
Besides, this is how we can personally prove whether the Bible is the written Word of God and whether God honors His word or not. If we declare that there is no God, or God does not love us, and have not put Him to the test by means of the tithe, then our judgment of God is false. We are not being very scientific in our experiment to see whether (or not) God is true, or whether or not the Bible has divine authority as the Word of God, or whether or not God keeps His word.
When Jesus said, “Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13). He was effectively saying: “Look I know you did not ask to be born into a sinful and evil world wherein you are sinners by nature. Do not judge Me or your Heavenly Father, but give Us a chance to prove Ourselves to you in your life. You will find that We will help you, and comfort you, and pour an overflowing blessing into your very being. So do not make unnecessary sacrifices by striving to perform man-made religious vows or requirements, rather put Us to the test and see if We will honor Our word or not.”—Not to do this is to steal from God His opportunity to prove Himself as Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, Lord God Almighty, Creator of all things—how good is this! We can find the truth out for ourselves by putting God to the test and proving Him through a legitimate means of scientific application.
Scientific Challenge
If anyone claims that the Lord God of the Bible does not exist and has not been willing to put Him to the test through means of the tithe, then that person is a fool, especially, if he or she claims to be a scientist.
This is how scientific enquiry works. First, there is the question, then the hypothesis, followed by the actual test, which is analyzed to determine the veracity of the results.
Question: Does the God of the Bible exist and is there any way in which His existence can be verified through an experiment?
Hypothesis: The Bible states that God honors the tithe. Therefore, we should be able to prove whether the Bible is of divine inspiration and whether God exists by means of the tithe.
Test: Over a period of ten years, we will record the lives of two thousand people who tithe and two thousand who do not tithe. We will also conduct the test with our own money at the same time.
Analysis (My own): The observations I have made personally of people who tithe, and the testimonies I have read and heard of people who tithe, indicate that God honors His word as stated in the book of Malachi, to which I can also testify from my own tithing. More importantly, my faith in the Lord God has grown as a result from tithing and seeing the One and Only Heavenly Father honor His word.
God rebukes the devourer from the lives of those who faithfully tithe. They not only prosper more financially than what they would have done by not tithing,[i] but develop a more optimistic attitude—of abundance—towards life and a more generous spirit, which is reflected in their attitudes towards other people. Moreover, people who tithe believe they are able to achieve more in their lives by being innovative.
Be Creative
Instead of stealing, God would prefer us to be creative and learn how to make worthwhile contributions to society, which will be of benefit to all. Sadly, many young people have no concept of being creative. Instead of being creative, they are destructive. However, it does not help young people when artisans see creativity as throwing paint on canvas any which way, or photographing large groups of nude people standing or crouched together in public spaces. Neither does it help people become more creative when humor becomes what is known as the “toilet variety” and Hollywood produces films that are full of offensive language and lewdness that is unnecessarily explicit. Glamorizing the vile, the profane, the obscene and the destructive is not really a totem of creativity. Producing sewage for the human mind is not being creative at all. Yet juveniles purporting to be mature—with many even claiming they belong to the intelligentsia—text, twitter, and post degrading comments online in their arrogance, ignorantly mistaking regurgitation of intellectual effluent for being creative.
Creativity that possesses value comes in the form of engineering that enables plumbing and sewers to keep disease at bay. Likewise, creativity involving the good and the true and the noble and the honorable is what is going to produce a better society along with that which is gracious, beautiful, marvelous, excellent and worthy of respect. As it stands, the hopes of many are being stolen because there appears to be no hope of a better world, because people are being caught up in the sewer of sin.
Vandalism is Stealing
Vandalism is an act of stealing. It is an act of stealing because when someone else’s property is destroyed, there is a cost involved to the person whose property has been damaged. Although the vandal does not reap any monetary gain from his reckless acts, he is stealing the person’s right to use what was damaged. By default, even though the vandal does not benefit, he is stealing the right of the person to purchase something else with the cost of repairing or replacing the damaged property. In the case of employment, where the damaged property is used to earn an income, the vandal is stealing the person’s right to earn a living.
Young children, teenagers and youth, or young adults, are often at loss with what to do with themselves. Often when a gathering of young people on the street are asked what they are doing, they will reply, “We have nothing to do.” Many often say, “We are bored.”
When a group of people are feeling bored and are not expending energy, instead of being creative, the tendency is to become destructive. Consequently, it is not hard to find people who will participate in a protest with the sole intent to create a riot. There may be an element of creativity in how they instigate a riot without actually being found out, so they can hire out their services for the next protest; but not much imagination is required to be abusive, or harm people, or hurl objects at police and law-abiding citizens, and damage property. All this is vandalism and is the stealing of lawful rights from other people to use their own property without further cost.
Criminal Creativity
Organized criminal activity can be a lot more sophisticated than merely turning a peaceful protest into a riot. Rackets, like the rebirthing of stolen cars, require considerable planning and organization. Car thieves have to be trained in how to immobilize alarm systems of the cars they steal, then motor mechanics, panel-beaters and spray-painters are employed to rebirth the cars by changing parts, and removing and replacing a chassis and making various modifications to prevent identification. Similarly, the importation or manufacture, storage and distribution of drugs and contraband require innovative ideas by criminals to avoid detection by the authorities. Avoiding detection is critical to the success of all criminal activities. Law enforcement authorities are forever amazed at the level of ingenuity that is employed by criminals to steal something, or the lengths they go to so they can outwit the police, just to make so-called easy money. Then there is the imagination that is required to launder large sums of ill-gotten gains, so that the funds appear to be legitimate income; including the forming of cohorts that comprise of artful accountants and sly solicitors. This form of creativity is an abuse of the imaginative ability that God has given us. The same abuse occurs when politicians and government agencies cover up criminal activities and produce propaganda to deceive the public. In doing so, they steal the voters’ right to know the truth about what is really happening within government circles.
.Criminals Prey on Healthy Economies
Criminals are limited to the amount of wealth they can take from society through illegal activity. The reason for this is parasites need a healthy organism from which to feed. Any parasitic creature, plant or organism requires a healthy creature, plant or organism to feed its appetite. Criminals, especially those involved in organized crime, need a healthy and prosperous society to prey upon; otherwise, the pickings become scarce, which leads to more overt criminal activity. Once criminally minded people get greedy, corruption becomes rife and this starts to destroy society. Instead of being able to use ingenuity to fleece money illegally from law-abiding citizens, racketeers have to resort to heavy intimidation tactics, and this usually results in turf wars and other destructive and dangerous activity, not to mention a public revolt that can break into civil war.
One of the hallmarks of civilization being able to progress is evidenced when graft (that is, dishonest, unfair, or illegal gain) is restricted to a minimum. When a country has a civilized society living in peace without the cancer of graft, creativity tends to expand the culture and its overall wealth. This has been evidenced throughout history and, in particular, is evident in First World economies, which have systems in place to reign in graft in its many forms. In First World countries, people who are involved in fraud and swindles are often being exposed and prosecuted for their crimes. This helps keep a lid on corruption and gives law-abiding citizens some hope. There are still many people feathering their own nests at other people’s expense. Stealing is seen as an easy means of making a living rather than being creative and making a worthwhile contribution to the community. While some people in society may be making an easy living from their rackets, they do not seem to enjoy the benefits of life like those who earn an honest living from industry and creativity that benefits society. Some racketeers have access to vast sums of money, but only a few have been numbered among the billionaires of the world.[ii] This is because the only way a criminal mastermind can become truly wealthy is by channeling his ill-begotten lucre into businesses that benefit society. Even those who have defrauded the financial markets of the world have not been able to make it to billionaire status and keep the proceeds.
Creating Wealth
Andrew Carnegie is regarded as the second richest man in modern history. His wealth is said to have been five times that of the richest man today. Carnegie commissioned Napoleon Hill to write a book about the secrets of acquiring and creating wealth, which was eventually published as Think And Grow Rich. Napoleon Hill identified some universal principles that are evident in people who have acquired and created wealth. The applications of these principles have enabled many law-abiding men and women to become wealthy without having to steal or resort to criminal activity.
To exist, every economy relies on productivity: be it the economy of a local community or a nation or the globe. If there is no productivity: there is nothing to steal. You cannot steal anything if it has not been produced in some way. Besides ideas and innovative products, this includes hunting or gathering food. Hunting animals to eat and gathering food in the form of mushrooms, berries, fruit, vegetables, eggs, or bugs, is a form of productivity; because, it is human activity that produces something which has value. For anybody to take another person’s food without permission is stealing. This is the case when it has been collected or hunted in the wild or grown on someone else’s property. The better alternative is for people to gather, hunt, farm or manufacture different foods and items of industry and then trade them, which translates into the creation of an economy.
Natural Economics
An economy is the utilization of human capital for the betterment of society. Ssu-Ma Ch’ien, the Grand Historian of China, recorded around the time of Jesus that: “Society obviously must have farmers before it can eat; foresters, fishermen, miners, etc., before it can make use of natural resources; craftsmen before it can have manufactured goods; and merchants before they can be distributed. But once these exist, what need is there for government directives, mobilizations of labor, or periodic assemblies? Each man has only to be left to utilize his own abilities and exert his strength to obtain what he wishes.... When each person works away at his own occupation and delights in his own business, then like water flowing downward, goods will naturally flow ceaselessly day and night without being summoned, and the people will produce commodities without having been asked. For every person will have an eye for the times and he or she will seek to make profit from opportunities that benefit members of the community.”[iii]
Stealing is for Losers
It is easy to see why God has decreed that people are not to steal from each other. Stealing results in strife—when two fight for the same thing. Hence, it is much better to learn to be creative and find a means by which we can make a positive contribution to our local economy. In doing so, we will find fulfillment and a sense of achievement.
Academics get upset when people steal their ideas and do not give them the proper recognition. Plagiarism is anathema among the world’s intelligentsia, and it is not something any student will be particularly overjoyed about if found out. Unfortunately, commercial advantage is gained by plagiarism, and when copyright and patents or trademarks are infringed: this is stealing. What stealing does is leave a void in the people for not being creative. There is no sense of accomplishment when people steal. Stealing creates an inner emptiness rather than fulfillment and inner happiness. Consequently, many people suffer from a sense of despair and become depressed as the result of their lack of creativity. Instead of becoming individuals who use their innate ability to learn and create solutions to problems, or develop something new, or to build something useful, which will be appreciated by others, those who steal lose the true riches of life.
Jesus and the Truth about Money
Contrary to what some claim, one of the interesting features about the ministry of Jesus is how money figures in much of his teachings. Those who loved money more than God were to be accursed, whereas those who use money to do good are to be rewarded.
Many people become Christians and take the view money is evil because of what Jesus said on various occasions. Jesus spoke against the rich man (Dives[iv]) in the story about Lazarus in Paradise and Dives in Hell. Jesus declared a rich man, a fool, because he was not rich towards God the night he died, having decided on that very day to retire and enjoy all the wealth he had accumulated in his life. Jesus pitied the rich young ruler who could not give his wealth to the poor. Jesus also claimed it was harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it was for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
Money itself is not the root of evil; but the love of money is definitely the root of evil.
How often do we hear people say they cannot do what they would like to do because of the lack of money? In many respects, this might be true, but we do not need money to teach students; yet teachers claim they cannot teach the students because of the lack of money. Scientists say they cannot conduct research because they have insufficient money; yet it is not money that does the research—it is the scientists!
Money is a commodity or a means by which people are able to exchange resources; yet people say being a Christian has nothing to do with money, while at the same time enslaving themselves to their possessions of land and buildings and other forms of wealth.
In the parable of the talents, Jesus teaches some important truths about money:
“For it is like a man who was about to take a long journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his property.
To one he gave five talents [probably about $5,000], to another two, to another one—to each in proportion to his own personal ability. Then he departed and left the country.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he gained five talents more.
And likewise he who had received the two talents—he also gained two talents more.
But he who had received the one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
And he who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, Master, you entrusted to me five talents; see, here I have gained five talents more.
His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys.
And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you entrusted two talents to me; here I have gained two talents more.
His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys.
He who had received one talent also came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a harsh and hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you had not winnowed [the grain].
So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is your own.
But his master answered him, You wicked and lazy and idle servant! Did you indeed know that I reap where I have not sowed and gather [grain] where I have not winnowed?
Then you should have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received what was my own with interest.
So take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will be furnished richly so that he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.
And throw the good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
(Matthew 25:14-30 Amplified Bible)
Many people like to think that Jesus is not talking about money here—although the Amplified Bible equates a talent to being one thousand dollars ($1,000), just in case we are confused about a talent being a unit of money or not. If the talent in this parable is meant to be a talent of gold, then each talent would be nearly five thousand ounces worth of the precious metal; in which case, a talent would be worth around eight million dollars ($8,000,000) at current gold prices of sixteen hundred dollars ($1,600) an ounce,[v] and the interest would be substantial.
For some reason, certain Christians like to claim the talents referred to here are gifts or abilities that people are given by God. But the truth is a talent in this story is not an ability, because how many people have five gifts (abilities) in which they excel and are able to turn them into ten gifts (abilities). A talented athlete might also be a talented artist, musician, writer, mathematician, engineer and scientist, but even then, we are stretching the grounds of probability of such a person existing in the world today who has five gifted abilities or talents let alone six. Besides we improve our abilities or talents we have, we do not create new ones from them. Improving our abilities may seem like creating new abilities and, in reality, this enables us to acquire more wealth. Now this brings us back to what Jesus was really talking about—money!
The Parable of the Talents Explained
There are two points in this story. The obvious point is that two persons used their creativity to trade and doubled the amount of money they were given, and one person did not attempt to use any of his creativity to increase the value of the money that was given him.
The second not so obvious point is the two persons who increased their wealth put their trust in God to help them. The person who put the money in the ground was not prepared to trust God to help him.
What is poignantly implied is God will help us develop our talents and creativity if we put our trust in Him.
This story is about money. In particular, what we do with the money or wealth we have. Moreover, we know this story is about money because of the banking element being a feature of this parable and the truth about bankers paying interest.
In most instances, when talking about the rich, Jesus seems to be hostile towards those who love money and prize material possessions above all things.
In this parable of the talents, Jesus, rather surprisingly, makes a point that the idea of banking is favorable and acceptable to God. In doing so, Jesus highlights the financial sophistication that existed in the economy of His day, and gives His tacit approval to the concept of bankers paying interest on money deposited in their trust. For the bankers to make a profit, they would then have to lend the money to someone else who would use the money also to make a profit. What this means is Jesus was effectively endorsing capitalism, which is the use of wealth to create more wealth—by using human capital[vi] to be creative.
The idea of lending money out at interest was not new in Jesus’ day. The Mosaic covenant permitted lending at interest by Israelites to non-Israelites (Deuteronomy 23:20). In Nehemiah’s day people were borrowing money to purchase grain and pay taxes (Nehemiah 5:3-4). The concept of lending at interest was known in other cultures. Lending money is recognized as a legitimate means of expanding an economy and increasing wealth—as evidenced in micro-financing: where loans are made to impoverished people in Third World countries on the basis of a person’s integrity. The results have been outstanding and many men and, in particular, women have demonstrated the wisdom of borrowing money to facilitate entrepreneurial projects that foster not only self-employment and human enterprise but also new employment opportunities where none previously existed. This in turn has increased the living standards of the community.
The middleman is often accused of being exploitative and making all the money, but it just so happens that the middleman is also responsible for creating many of the systems that enable economies to expand and create more wealth to be shared by the people.
Capitalism always requires middlemen and, of all the many tested types of economic ideologies throughout history, capitalism has proven to be the most efficient means for distributing wealth among the people. This is something Jean Paul Getty, the founder of the Getty Museum, noticed when traveling to Russia just after the First World War. Getty was considering becoming a socialist and a diplomat. However, when he saw the impoverished conditions experienced by the Russians compared to the abundance of wealth that was shared by many more American citizens, Getty realized the virtues of capitalism outshone that of socialism. Getty then decided to build his own business, which ended up employing over twelve thousand employees, with the lowest corporate turnover of employees in the USA and UK.
Today, all the Eastern European Socialist Countries and the USSR that were known as the Communist Bloc, and Communist China have recognized the value of capitalism for creating wealth and improving the material comforts of their citizens, and have abandoned the idea of socialism and communism to permit capitalism to flourish. Communist North Korea is the exception. North Korea has insufficient food for its people and serves as a fitting reminder of the disadvantages of communism, especially when contrasted against capitalist South Korea, where there is an abundance of food and goods for the people to enjoy and make their lives more comfortable.
Today, all the Eastern European Socialist Countries and the USSR that were known as the Communist Bloc, and Communist China have recognized the value of capitalism for creating wealth and improving the material comforts of their citizens, and have abandoned the idea of socialism and communism to permit capitalism to flourish. Communist North Korea is the exception. North Korea has insufficient food for its people and serves as a fitting reminder of the disadvantages of communism, especially when contrasted against capitalist South Korea, where there is an abundance of food and goods for the people to enjoy and make their lives more comfortable.
Why Capitalism Works
The reason capitalism works is people are given an opportunity to employ capital to create more wealth for themselves. To a large degree, this is reflected within the Mosaic covenant, where the law of the jubilee provided people with a means to improve their conditions in life with some capital.
Essentially, capitalism means that we can improve our own circumstances in life by using our abilities to increase our wealth. This provides a sense of satisfaction that is not achieved when there is no challenge to stimulate aspirations towards possessing a sense of accomplishment in life.
Essentially, capitalism means that we can improve our own circumstances in life by using our abilities to increase our wealth. This provides a sense of satisfaction that is not achieved when there is no challenge to stimulate aspirations towards possessing a sense of accomplishment in life.
In the case that we have plenty of wealth, we can share it among the poor, and then go and create some more. The truth is God wants us to be creative and have a purpose in life. God does not want people to have children who have all the material possessions and comforts of this world, but become so bored with life, and so empty inside their hearts, that they become indolent drug addicts. The tragedy is the Evil One is stealing the hearts and souls of many young people who have no purpose in life, or can find no purpose in life other than to get drunk, get laid, and get hooked on drugs; all because their parents see money and status as the be-all and end-all to existence.
To exist is one thing; to live life, another matter. Life is meant to be an adventure. This adventure is one where we Earthlings learn how to overcome the ruler of this world, and the lusts and passions of the fleshly cravings—often known as the seven deadly sins. The challenge before us is to transform consciously into spiritual beings by learning how to communicate and work with our Heavenly Father. It just so happens, God has provided a means, which we know as capitalism, so we can learn how to trust God, grow in faith, and be creative; rather than take that which is not rightfully ours. For stealing destroys friendships and alienates acquaintances.
Big Government Kills Capitalism
The problem that exists in the world today is big government happens to be killing capitalism. When companies go under, instead of letting the companies crash because they have become too unproductive, big government props them up and this is the same as imperialism or socialism for the wealthy—or welfare for those who have jobs and an income. This is not socialism for everybody, which in reality does not work. For when in socialist Russia, J. P. Getty saw for himself the masses queuing up at shops with a lack of goods while the tyrannical communist rulers lived without want, so he vowed never to support socialism or communism in any form, when true capitalism offers more opportunity for the workers.
Only true capitalism produces goods for the good of the economy and benefits society—not forms of crony capitalism. Unfortunately, when paper financial products and imaginary paper profits are touted as wealth, this is where capitalism ceases to be the employment of resources to produce benefit for the good of the people. We can say paper economies are not true capitalism, because they lack true capital. The reason why these paper economies exist is big government provides socialism for the large corporations. The number of large corporations that would be heavily downsized, if not bankrupted, would devastate the financial world if all the government subsidies and paper money maneuvers folded—but there is nothing wrong with fat cats becoming leaner or the financially insolvent becoming industrious, productive and prosperous again.
In First World Countries, there are too many people benefiting from the largess of the public purse. This is why there is a massive financial crisis looming of the proportions never before seen. The only answer in the minds of people will be to kill capitalism (which nationally no longer exists in its true form) and create a one-world government. [viii]
If society were set up in the way that God showed Moses and the concept of Jubilee were introduced, every person would have a rightful inheritance to employ his or her own personal capital for the benefit of all. Big government would be out, and wealth would be fairly distributed every fifty years, so all human capital and human potential could be better utilized rather than being under-utilized and lost in poverty and slums.
Where to Find True Riches
The eighth commandment is about people learning to be creative rather than stealing from others. Wherever we look in life, we will find that creativity allows for expansion, whereas stealing (that is, taking other people’s goods, rights and ideas away from them without their permission) brings about destruction. This destruction may result in tit-for-tat revenge, or it might be the destruction of what was otherwise a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship.
The eighth commandment is about reminding people about the need to appreciate one another’s efforts. For this is evident in what Jesus said in the parable of the talents. The person, who gave the talents in the first place, showed his appreciation of the efforts of those who created an increase in his wealth by giving them more, and showering praise on them for their achievements.
The eighth commandment is about giving people a purpose in life rather than being bored because they are not able to find fulfillment through lack of accomplishments. All too often, people who have no purpose live a miserable life rather than one that can be full of joy in overcoming obstacles and happiness because they are able to share meaningful moments with friends and experience the joy of making new friendships. Indeed, there is much joy to be experienced assisting people in learning the truth about the resurrection of Jesus.
The eighth commandment is about being generous and learning to share with other people. This is the opposite to taking, but people seem to think it is easier to be criminally-minded rather than community-minded, and provide help to those who do not have the resources and knowledge required for them to succeed at the levels of the more fortunate. Throughout the Bible, there is compassion for the poor, but rather than having a centralized system of distribution like that those who subscribe to socialism and communism desire to introduce, God would prefer people to personally share their own wealth with the poor and take it upon themselves to be their brother’s keeper. This is difficult for people to do, when their parents have set different standards—standards that encourage their children to be self-indulgent rather than to help other people.
The eighth commandment is about having riches in Heaven. It is one thing to be rich in this world, but not rich towards God. God wants people to be rich towards Him and rich in this world as well. God has introduced the system of the tithe for this very reason. It is amazing how people who tithe are blessed.[ix] They know that there is no need to steal but to learn how to trust God to enable them to be creative and have a life of adventure as they discover how to put the eternal principles of life into action.
We discover the true riches of life when we learn to have faith in God—faith is the currency of Heaven. The tithe is the means by which we are able to put our Heavenly Father to the test. By this means, we grow in faith towards God and become rich in the eternal currency. We cannot steal faith. We can only get richer by learning how to become more faithful when exercising faith towards God in the eternal realm of the spirit.
Proving God With Science
How can I prove the truths of Scripture
without appearing like a fool? This is a question many claiming to be
Christians would like to have answered; especially those who engage in conversations
with a scientifically-minded or scientifically trained person and have biblical
discrepancies thrown at them. Being in a glass house when there is a hailstorm
is not the same experience as listening to corn popping and having one’s mouth
begin to water.
One way to deal with the
accusations of the ignorant is not to engage with such people. Another way is
to do some research as to why the discrepancies might be there and try to
explain them. If we are honest, we have to admit there are many seemingly
conspicuous discrepancies in the Bible and, unless we have an omniscient mind,
we cannot account for them all. When people attempt to explain the reasons why
there are two genealogies of Jesus in the gospels, usually they fall short.[i]
Really, the best way is not to attempt to defend the Bible, but engage people
from a different basis. For there is no reason why we need to defend the Bible.
The Bible speaks for itself. Simply put, the Bible is a record of history and
what the Creator of the Universe desires for humankind. Those who dismiss the
Creator’s expectations will have to find out after death whether they are right
regarding existence.
However, if individuals claim that
the Bible is a fable or a book of fiction, there is a way they themselves can
be challenged as to their own integrity, instead of by our own limited
knowledge. This can be done using the scientific method. Rather than having to
demonstrate to people why certain Scriptures appear to contradict other Scriptures,
the scientific method obligates them to prove the Scriptures themselves.
Richard Dawkins likes to think that
he is a wise old codger who has proven that God does not exist. When he was a
young man, he believes he demonstrated how evolution was a proven fact by using
a model that he created on a computer.
In his documentary the Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins explains
the improbability of a robber opening a multi-combination lock on a bank
safe by guessing the combination. According to Dawkins the odds are an
astronomical ten million trillion to one. However, such complexity as this
flies in the face of the Theory of Evolution and kills it stone dead.
Evidently, those who reject the evolutionary theory on the basis of evidence
such as this, according to Dawkins, do not understand how the theory works. This
is because the multi-combination lock uses a number of different locks and even
if a few of them are right, unless they are all correct, the safe will not
open. However, the combination lock view of how evolution is supposed to
work occurs when all the elements at a given time synchronize and a new species
emerges—only this is flawed.
Richard Dawkins says that he does not believe evolution uses
chance like it would in the way required to open a multi-combination lock at
all. We can only assume that the reason Richard Dawkins does not accept
evolution uses chance like a combination lock is because he possesses an
omniscient mind and therefore we can take it from him, a designer would be
unnecessary.
Dawkins then goes on to say that,
if we were to give a monkey a typewriter, eventually he will write the complete
works of Shakespeare; only it will take eons. Theoretically, humans are the
monkeys that have evolved to write the works that are regarded as possessing
poignantly deep insight into life, and Shakespeare was the particular monkey
that wrote his own insightful works. For the scientist Dawkins to demonstrate
how this would have had to have been done himself, he claims it would take him
longer than the universe has existed to reach even one single phrase of
Shakespeare, such as, “methinks like a weasel”.
To prove that pure chance cannot
explain evolution, Dawkins takes the phrase “methinks like a weasel” and
writes a computer program to demonstrate how all the random efforts of his
“computer monkey” are absolutely useless and after many trillions of attempts,
the computer monkey cannot by pure chance write the phrase.
After validating that pure chance
cannot produce evidence of evolutionary theory, Dawkins demonstrates the proof
of the Theory of Evolution by designing another experimental model by using a computer
that he has had programmed differently, saying: "I wanted to compare the
performance of the computer typing at random with the computer following the
more Darwinian ‘accumulative selection’ at random where a letter changes a
little more like the target phrase ‘methinks it is like a weasel’ .... It has only
been going a couple of minutes and it has the complete words while the poor old
random one (which he also programmed) is getting nowhere.... Although this is a
good model, in another way it is really
a cheat because this program is homing in on a distant target…. Real evolution is blind to the future.”
Nevertheless, Dawkins insists he
has proven that the two computers, having been programmed differently and
running side by side, are evidence of evolution. He exclaims, “We have proved
the principle of accumulating chance in little bits, accumulative
selection."
Deception is not something people
who desire the truth fall into easily. A true
scientist will want proof
that can be repeated in the laboratory using the genuine article not fictitious
models of imagination.
Richard Dawkins claims he is a
scientist in the field of molecular biology. Yet he sets up an experiment using
computer models to demonstrate how evolution works. Only he is unable to do
this in his area of specialty. Explaining a theoretical model by using a
computer program designed to achieve a particular result is no proof at all of
evidence that evolutionary biology is the product of chance or selective
accumulation of chance. In this case, Richard Dawkins has produced evidence of
a designer (himself) creating a model programmed into a computer to demonstrate
the theory of a myth that he personally believes to be true.
Now Dawkins may not accept that he
believes in a myth. We, who know the truth, can scoff at his beliefs and deride
him for being so foolish to think that an amateur attempt at sleight of hand
would convince us that he is more than a failed magician.
When we attempt to prove something
and we really do not know what we are talking about, the only people who are
going to be on our side are those who have something to lose if they are not on
our side. This is why believers (and this is what they are) in the Theory of
Evolution all applaud Richard Dawkins documentary The Blind Watchmaker.
Whereas this writer looks on in unbelief—aghast that Dawkins would think
everyone could be so blind and stupid
and gullible as himself. Astoundingly, people claiming to be critical thinkers agree
with Dawkins that his experiment is a legitimate demonstration of how the Theory
of Evolution works in real life.
When it comes to knowing the truth, we need to
approach everything with skepticism. This is because we will be less likely to
deceive ourselves by thinking we are wise and not for any other reason. It is
so easy to deceive ourselves if we want to prove something to be true. Just
have a look at Richard Dawkins film about himself: The Blind Watchmaker—or
should it be the blind molecular biologist masquerading as a computer
programmer trying to hoodwink his audience.
Yet according to Dawkins: we are
nothing more than the mistakes of DNA. According to him, as far as creationists
are concerned, we see there had to be a Creator because we want to see it. We
believe in a Creator Who is the Designer of all things, because it fits our
world view; because of this we are blind to the truth that is staring us in the
face—the illusion that Dawkins wants us to believe.
Mistakes are so easily made because
human bias can so readily creep into experiments. This is why the scientific
method requires repeatable evidence.
This is different to being an archaeologist and discovering historical
evidence that affirms the narrative in Acts as being culturally true.
Scientific method means being able to prove something over and over again. Evolutionists really do not like the
scientific method because it requires absolute proof to be demonstrated; proof
such as apples falling from trees. The scientific method is "a method or
procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century,
consisting of systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the
formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.”[ii]
Contrary to what many people think,
the writers of the Bible did not write fiction and did not attempt to scare
people with stories found in medieval fairy tales about goblins and other scary
creatures that originate in the darkest recesses of the imagination. The prophets
actually issued an appeal to reason to win souls rather than condemnation to eternal
punishment in the hottest hell fires imaginable; or anguish and torment in the
loneliness of the darkest hellholes found in the Universe. For in the book of
Isaiah we are invited to come and reason with the Lord, and Malachi invites us
to put the Lord to the test and prove Him. We are not talking about believing
in what we want to believe, but we are talking about establishing truth. We are
talking about reason. We are talking about proof. We are talking about
repeatable demonstrations of proof.
When we reason, we are using our
intellectual capacity to seek verifiable knowledge and ascertain the truth.
Many claim that this is intellectualism and God is not interested in the
intellect but he is interested in the heart. Therefore, we need to approach God
intuitively and not intellectually. However, this is not true. If we truly
desire to know God, we need to appreciate Him and experience Him in a
relationship that involves our spirit, soul, mind, and body, with all the
strength we possess. Nevertheless, we need to start somewhere and Jesus said
that if we doubt, then we are lacking in faith. Hence, if we doubt in our mind,
we cannot be full of faith. This is why God invites us to prove Him by putting
Him to the test. God wants us to accept only the proven as true—not imagination,
computer models or other forms of fantasy.
If God invites us to prove Him by
putting Him to the test, then there is no need for us to argue our own position.
Every person can prove God for himself or herself. Whoever claims that God does
not exist and the Bible is full of inconsistencies, if genuine, will not balk
at the challenge. This way, if the Bible is not what Jesus claims it to be, and
Jesus is not Who He claims to be, they have nothing to worry about, for there
is no such thing as eternal punishment. However, if the individuals who make
false claims about the Bible are not prepared to accept God’s challenge, then
arguing with them or even talking to them about scriptural truths is a waste of
time. Jesus was very clear: we are not to throw pearls before swine and give to
dogs what is holy. (This is different from seeking to find out whether a person
is ready to acknowledge their sin.)
God does not change. This is to be
expected. From a human viewpoint, if God is righteous and immortal, we could
not expect Him to be unrighteous at any time; nor would we expect Him to
subject to death. This is the case, even though the Bible teaches us the Son of
God assumed human form as Jesus of Nazareth and died on the cross. The
pre-existent Divine nature that dwelt within Jesus, the Son of Man, was
indestructible. When Jesus died on the cross, the man died. The indestructible
Spirit of God that dwelt within Jesus did not. Hence, we read in the book of
Romans the revelation that Paul had received about the gospel of truth:
Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God,
which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
concerning his Son, who was born of the offspring of David according to the
flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans
1:1-4)
As we can see in this text, the
Apostle Paul declares what has been revealed to Him. This is the man who
opposed the truth of the resurrection, in which he believed, but probably found
it inconceivable that a man could be born of a virgin, die for the sin of
humankind, and then rise from the dead, as prophesied in writings published
centuries earlier. Yet we see Paul declaring, according to the power of the
Spirit of Holiness within, that the whole of Creation has to acknowledge Jesus
is the Son of God. In another place, the Apostle Paul declares the mystery of
godliness is great, because God was revealed in the flesh and justified in the
Spirit (1 Timothy 3:16). All this is because the man Jesus of Nazareth was the
only human to have ever been born with the power of an indestructible life
(Hebrews 7:16).
If God does not change because He
is righteous, and Jesus is the Son of God, who possesses the same nature as
Himself, and is in fact one with the Father as He claimed (John 10:30), then
what is in the Old Testament, must be applicable to the New Testament. When we
read that the Lord does not change (Malachi 3:6), then this must apply today.
If this is not the case, we will be able to disprove it. If it is the case, we will be able to prove
it. Science is all about attempting to disprove claims in order to prove
claims.
Assuming scientific method is a
valid and reliable means of testing propositions under all circumstances, then
the procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century,
should be acceptable today. First, we need to develop a hypothesis, before we
can test it in an experiment by systematic observation and measurement.
Since the book of Malachi provides
us with a challenge, we will formulate our hypothesis beginning with the
passage of Scripture found there. The passage reads:
“For I, Yahweh,
don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of
your fathers you have turned aside from my ordinances, and have not kept them.
Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies. “But you say,
‘How shall we return?’ Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How
have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse;
for you rob me, even this whole nation. Bring the whole tithe into the
storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says
Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you
out a blessing, that there will not be room enough for. I will rebuke the
devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground;
neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says
Yahweh of Armies. “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a
delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies. (Malachi 3:6-12)
The Scripture essentially states
that if we are to return to Yahweh (the LORD), we are required to bring the
whole tithe into God’s storehouse. In doing this, we are putting God to the
test. He promises to pour out an abundant blessing observable by others.
This information appears to provide
us with something we can observe, and, with which, we can measure and conduct
an experiment more than once.
First, we need to establish what a
tithe is. Secondly, we need to establish where we can find God’s storehouse. Thirdly, we need to establish the length of
the experiment for observational purposes. Fourthly, we need to establish how
we can measure the experiment. Fifthly, we need to establish if it is
repeatable.
It is noted that, according to this
text, the requirement for the overflowing blessing is the whole tithe and
offerings. However, we are talking about the tithe alone and not the offerings.
A tithe on its own is one tenth of something, but the full tithe and offerings
could be considerably more. Therefore, if we were only to give one tenth into
the storehouse of the Lord, this would not qualify for overflowing blessings,
but it would have to qualify for blessings.
In respect to the storehouse of the
Lord, we will also have to establish where this storehouse might be. There are
many who claim that they are the guardians of the Lord’s storehouse, but we
need to know what they are guarding that might qualify them to be recipients of
this tithe.
Before we get to the third
criterion of the five criteria we have identified as necessary for us to
conduct our experiment, we need to establish how we can qualify the first two:
what is the tithe exactly and who should be the recipient of the tithe.
The above text mentions Jacob.
Evidently, Jacob tithed, for we read: Jacob vowed a vow, saying,
“If God will be
with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat,
and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and
Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will
be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you”
(Genesis
28:20-22).
From what the Bible says concerning
Jacob and his tithe, it appears that he did not go beyond the tenth. He may
have offered other offerings that are not mentioned, but in respect to the
tithe, he made a vow, entered into a covenant with God to provide for him and
protect him. It is upon this, that the promise is made in the Malachi text that
God does not change; therefore, the people of Israel are not consumed.
In the Mosaic Law, there are other
tithes and offerings mentioned. They are obviously there for a reason. In this
passage, regarding putting God to the test and the rebuking of the devourer, it
appears that Jacob is the key to understanding what it all means. Because of
this we can have confidence that the tithe alone will suffice to conduct our
experiment.
Within Jewish literature, what is
termed the “second tithe” is to be consumed at Jerusalem by the Israelites, and
what is termed the “third tithe” is to be given to the poor. This all comes
from the Mosaic Covenant, as does the offering of the first fruits. However, it
is worth noting that the offering of the first fruits appears to be something
that was done before the Mosaic Covenant was brought into being. This
concept goes back to Abel. We read in the book of Genesis:
Abel also
brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected
Abel and his offering (Gen. 4:4).
We cannot tell whether Abel tithed;
that is, brought a tenth of his firstborn as a sacrifice to the Lord. What we
do know is he brought more than one of the firstborn.
Significantly, we also
notice that this was a freewill offering of the firstborn, or the first fruits.
In which case, if anybody truly wants to prove God, it is only right that the
first fruits be included in the tenth and not that from what is leftover. In
saying this, if we are going to put God to the test, and prove Him, we need to
demonstrate that we are genuine in this experiment and not half-hearted. We
truly want to know whether the God of the Bible is the Creator and not created
out of man’s imagination, like the computer monkey that Richard Dawkins created
to demonstrate his belief.
Since this is an experiment to test
the God of Jacob, and we have identified that tithes and offerings are to be
included, we shall determine the offering to be the first fruits; that is the
offering that forms the first tenth of our income, and not a tenth of what is
left over after everything else has been taken into account. Moreover, in the
book of Proverbs, which is renowned for its wisdom, we find the following
advice that aligns with the promise made in Malachi:
Honor Yahweh
with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase: so your barns
will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
(Proverbs 3:9-10)
Another point that needs to be
noted is Jacob did not have any wealth
when making his vow to tithe and
honor God. Jacob was on the run from his brother Esau at the time; he
was foot loose and fancy free, so to speak. Fugitives are not known for
carrying much attire or many belongings other than the clothes they wear and
whatever cash they can quickly lay their hands on. In other words, Jacob was
broke. We also note that Jacob was working for wages, for we read: Laban said
to him,
“Surely you are
my bone and my flesh.” He lived with him for a month. Laban said to Jacob,
“Because you are my brother, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell
me, what will your wages be?” (Genesis 29:14-15).
Therefore, to genuinely put God to
the test, we need to start off with nothing and, at least, begin with wages.
This is what we have to do if we are going to prove whether God of the Bible is
true or the idea of a Creator having created the Heavens and Earth is a hoax.
Now that we have ascertained that
Jacob was broke and had just been awarded employment for wages, and an offering
means first fruits, this establishes the first criterion. Therefore, we will
make a pact with God, as Jacob did, and the first thing we will do is bring a
tenth of what we receive as wages, before deductions, as an offering of the
first fruits.
The issue of the storehouse needs
to be addressed. Where can we find a storehouse of God. There are so many
different people claiming to know where this storehouse exists, but what if
they are hoodwinking us, and their storehouse is their bank account only, and
God does not recognize them.
Back in the days of Malachi, the
storehouse was something that was looked after by the priests. It just so
happens, the book of Malachi has provided us with a clue that will help us
ascertain where the storehouse of God is kept today, if there is one. This is
where we can find our clue:
“Now, you
priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not listen, and if you will
not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name,” says Yahweh of Armies, “then
will I send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have
cursed them already, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke
your offspring, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your
feasts; and you will be taken away with it. You will know that I have sent this
commandment to you, that my covenant may be with Levi,” says Yahweh of Armies.
“My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he
might be reverent toward me; and he was reverent toward me, and stood in awe of
my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found
in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away
from iniquity. For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should
seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of Armies (Malachi
2:1-7).
When we read this passage from
Malachi, chapter two, we see that there is not only one clue in the test, but
there are a number of clues; so we will deal with them one by one.
The priests have been given an
edict that if they will not glorify the name of the Lord, then they will be
cursed and their offerings will be cursed. What this suggests is if we give our
tithes to priests who are not glorifying the name of the Lord, our offerings
will be cursed and this is not going to prove God. We need to find a storehouse
where the priests are not cursed but blessed. The question is then: What brings
the curse?
We want to find a storehouse outside
of the Mosaic Covenant and not within a Jewish context. The reason why we say
this is because the Christian message supersedes the Mosaic Covenant of an eye
for an eye and a hand for a hand. Barbaric acts of brutality are not to be
tolerated within the Christian context; rather the concept of healing is the
ethos Jesus espoused. This is evidenced when Jesus healed the ear his disciple
Peter cut off—at the time, a beheading or vengeance might have seemed the
appropriate response. This is what the physician Luke records about the
incident:
But Jesus said
to him, “Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” When those who were
around him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, “Lord, shall we
strike with the sword?” A certain one[iii]
of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. But
Jesus answered, “Let me at least do this”—and he touched his ear, and healed
him (Luke 22:48-51)
Noteworthy also is the only time
Jesus is recorded in the gospels to have been angry, we find him, instead of
beheading people, bringing healing:
He said to them,
“Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or
to kill?” But they were silent. When he had looked around at them with anger,
being grieved at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch
out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as
the other. The Pharisees went out, and immediately conspired with the Herodians
against him, how they might destroy him (Mark 3:4-6).
From these two passages of Scripture
about Jesus healing people, we are able to arrive at elements of criteria to
establish who might be the guardians of God’s storehouse, if there is one on
Earth. What we note is those who preach anger and hostility do not fit the
picture. Instead, we need to be looking for guardians of the storehouse who
preach healing and peace. The God of the Christians is not an angry God. The
Christian God also brings healing. This healing is what some might call
metaphysical, but it is actually physical healing—not speculative, spiritual or
incorporeal. These two criteria alone, point to many people who claim to be
guardians of the truth as definitely not from God.
Since we are looking at some of the
things Jesus did, we might as well consider something else that He said
regarding bringing glory to God. The opposite of this is to bring a curse. The
following Scriptures from the Sermon on the Mount provide some extra
qualification as to determining who might be the guardian of the storehouse:
“You are the
salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be
salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the
feet of men. You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be
hidden. Neither do you light a lamp, and
put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are
in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. “Don’t think that I came
to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.
For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one
smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law,
until all things are accomplished. Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these
least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the
Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in
the Kingdom of Heaven For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds
that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:13-20).
From the Sermon on the Mount, there
is the implication knowledge is what is kept in the storehouse, because Jesus
said that he did not come to destroy the law and the prophets. It just so
happens, the Apostle Paul provides a little light on this matter for us when he
wrote the following concerning the Law given to Israel:
But if you call
yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and
approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you
are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are
in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the
law the embodiment of knowledge and truth (Romans 2:17-20 ESV[iv]).
Those who are guardians of the
storehouse are guardians of knowledge, which has to be the truth about life. In
which case, in this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, we notice that the
guardians of truth will have to be like salt and yet a light that brings glory
to God for the things they do. The guardian of truth does not break the
commandments of God. Those who disregard and break the commandments do not
bring glory to the name of God. Moreover, we learn from Jesus that the
righteousness of the storehouse guardian exceeds that of the Pharisees.
Pharisees are hypocrites, so we
know that anyone who is a hypocrite is not a guardian of God’s storehouse. The
commandments can only be the Ten Commandments that were written by the Finger
of God, so the person must uphold these. The things they do must bring glory to
God and, like salt, they must have some sting in what they say.
In what we have identified so far,
we can enumerate the criteria we need to clearly ascertain who might be a
guardian of the storehouse of God as righteousness, the Ten Commandments,
bringing God glory, and salt. To this we can add, peace instead of vengeance
and healing instead of anger—which makes six.
The text from the book of Malachi
says that the covenant is with Levi, but he was not around when Malachi wrote this.
The Levite priesthood was—so we can assume that Levi is representative of all
priests. Specifically, we will do well to note, apart from the fact Levi was in
awe of God, he walked with the Lord in peace and uprightness, and turned many
away from iniquity. Here we have some more clues: peace and righteousness we
have already noted. But we have not accounted for the law of truth and being a
winner of souls; nor wisdom and being a messenger of God; that is, a prophet.
Our little investigation has
uncovered a number of criteria by which we can assess whether any person is a
guardian of God’s storehouse. In fact, the last verse from the text in Malachi
where we began finding our clues tells us that the lips of a priest should
guard knowledge and we should seek his understanding of the law of God. This
suggests humility, which brings us to ten criteria with which to evaluate who
might be a guardian of the storehouse; the first criteria being more about
establishing what is righteousness, so we have something to assess the other
ten criteria with.
The ten criteria that provide us with clues
where God’s storehouse might be found by identifying a guardian are:
1) We
need to find someone who has humility
2) We
need to find someone who is a prophet from God
3) We
need to find someone who heals
4) We
need to find someone who wants to save souls
5) We
need to find someone who is wise
6) We
need to find someone who walks in righteousness
7) We
need to find someone who is a peacemaker
8) We
need to find someone who salts their speech with truth
9) We
need to find someone that walks in the light and, by doing so, brings glory to
God
10) We
need to find someone who understands the law of God
Importantly, we need to establish
what righteousness means before we can begin our search for God’s storehouse.
Even though we have identified criteria that will assist in qualifying the
guardians, it is important to understand what righteousness means in the world
that we live. For this appears to be the bottom line, and we want to bring our
offering of the tithe to people who are not cursed, but blessed, so that we can
prove the truth about the claims in the Bible about God. If we simply tithe a
tenth of our wages to any individual or organization and they are cursed, we
will not receive the blessing and our experiment will not have been valid. We
would have gone away with a wrong conclusion to our hypothesis and made false
claims about the tithe and God. From what we have considered so far, we know
that there are many people, and a number of organizations, masquerading as
being guardians of God’s storehouse who are actually cursed, even if they may
not know it themselves.
People we know that are cursed
would have to be those that do not understand the Law of God, do not bring
glory to God, make compromises, serve an angry God, do not win souls, lack
wisdom, compromise the truth, do not believe in the message of healing, make
inaccurate predictions, lack humility. and practice hypocrisy. The following
passage was written before the end of the first century (1 AD), but reading it
informs us that the largest denomination, contrary to its claims of being the
guardian of truth, is excluded from being the storehouse of God. This is what
the Apostle Paul has to say:
But the Spirit
says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying
attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of
men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron;
forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to
be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
(1 Timothy
4:1-3)
When we begin to analyze the
requirements and what goes on within various denominations and sects, we find many
of our possible candidates as probable guardians of the storehouse seem to
disappear from the list we are forming. We may wonder whether this is because,
although a call goes to many, few are chosen. However, if we are to set up a
scientific test that meets the criteria of our experiment, which we have
determined is to prove that the challenge made in Malachi to put God to the
test is manmade, and not God-ordained, we need to make sure that we have covered
every possible flaw. Because of the nature of this experiment, which is to
prove a negative, we do not want to be found guilty of experimental error due
to unintentional research bias; neither do we want to be accused of research
bias. For instance, we could not give our tithe to an organization, that
forbids marriage and advocates abstaining from foods, and expect blessings when
those who practice such things have been cursed. Therefore, the person or persons or
organization we deem to be a guardian of God’s storehouse will have to qualify
as not being under a curse. If we deem anyone to be a guardian, while knowing
that elements which qualify for a curse exist, and we find that in giving the
tithe to such a guardian, we fail to obtain any blessing or insufficient
blessing to be conclusive, we cannot conclusively prove the Bible is uninspired
by an Omniscient Mind that created and rules the Universe, and the God of the
Bible is a fabrication of man’s imagination.
In trying to prove a negative, for
some people we might seem to be conducting an offensive experiment, because
they accept God to be true. Only we want conclusive evidence either way. A true
scientific experiment is neutral. In
conducting this experiment we are not saying that God is true and we are not
saying that God is not true. We are saying that from a humanistic point of
view, it is more likely men wrote the Bible without the inspiration of God.
This is because there are many religious texts available from different parts
of the world, which claim Divine inspiration and have different messages.
Therefore, the contention is that if God authored the Bible, then Malachi is
the means by which we can test this. In order to test this scientifically, we
need to attempt to prove that tithing does not bring the blessing of God. If we cannot prove that the invitation to
tithe is a hoax, then we have to
admit, the Creator of the Universe is the Author of the Bible.
The best way to do this is to do everything we can to genuinely demonstrate
that God is not true, unless the experiment proves us wrong and the Bible
correct. Furthermore, in order to be truly scientific, we are approaching this
with the mindset that we are not sure that the Universe was created by a
Creator. If this experiment demonstrates that what is written in the book of
Malachi about returning to God is correct because we have covered all bases
then, we have a sound basis to accept the truth of the Bible’s teachings.
Before we look further into who would be a
likely candidate as a guardian of God’s storehouse, we will consider the other
three criteria of how long the experiment will be, how it can be measured and
whether it is repeatable.
When we have found the guardian of
the storehouse, there should not be any issues about other people repeating the
experiment; although our experiment should be conclusive enough that the
results will speak for themselves. We will be able to measure this by finding
someone to partner with us and instead of tithing to the selected guardian,
they can spend their money anyhow they like. Naturally, we will need to select
a partner who will be willing to document what they do with their money. As for
the duration, if we are going to do this thing correctly we would have to do
what Jacob did, since this appears to be the inspiration for the concept of
receiving blessing from Heaven because of the tithe.
Since we would probably have to use
animals to prove what Jacob did and have to do this over a twenty-year period,
we will have to admit that we are not prepared to become cattlemen and raise
livestock, so we will use money instead, and allow a tenth of the time Jacob
did to prove God. In saying that Jacob
actually tithed his animals to the priest, this may not have been the case,
because if we were to assume that he decided to, say, tithe to the Melchizedek
priesthood that existed in Salem, at that time, he may have sold his animals
for gold to send his tithe to the priests.
Jacob tithed over a twenty-year
period. Even though his uncle Laban (the Devil incarnate) did everything
possible to cheat him, Jacob became abundantly more wealthier than him. However, regarding this experiment, instead of twenty years, we will tithe the time, and
conduct it over two years. We should be able to establish a difference between
one person who tithes and one who does not in two years. This should be enough
time for any overflowing blessing to become evident. If there is blessing, but
no overflowing blessing because we are not bringing in the full tithes and offerings, we will simply apply a mathematical formula to spread
it over a twenty year period to see what the probable result would be—whether or
not this would be enough to warrant acceptance of divine intervention. This
way, if some indication that divine intervention could be happening occurs, we
can repeat the experiment.
We have no need to concern
ourselves regarding design bias because this aspect of our experiment is
eliminated by the fact the method of experimentation is provided by what is
found in the Bible. We have the criteria by which can eliminate any selection
bias, as long as we do not purposely omit prospective candidates who fit the
criteria for selection as guardians of God’s storehouse or include only those
who do not fit the criteria. It is unlikely there will be any procedural bias
as long as we offer the first fruits of our tithe as soon as we receive our
wages. The only likelihood of there being any measurement bias is if we fudge
the figures and claim we brought in the first tenth of our income to the Lord’s
storehouse but did not; however, we will monitor this by ensuring we have dated
receipts. Since we are expecting a negative result to prove that God does not
honor the tithe in accordance to what is written in the Bible, any favorable
reporting is unlikely to be fudged.
Having covered nearly every
criterion that we have observed to form the question from which to develop our
hypothesis, there is only the matter of seeking candidates as the guardian of
the storehouse to find one suitable for our experiment.
From the ten criteria that we have
developed for selecting a candidate, we can eliminate all candidates who do not
believe prophesy, healing and the Law of God is valid for today. We can
eliminate all those who believe in an angry God and mixes darkness with the
light by declaring dogmas that are not found in the Bible. We can eliminate all
those who do not win souls by turning them away from iniquity, practice
hypocrisy, make compromises, lack humility and wisdom and do not cause other
people to glorify God because of what they are doing.
There is one problem in all of this,
which is rather unfortunate. Pedophiles have eliminated nearly all the
denominations. Hypocrisy has knocked the rest out of the equation. Television
evangelists obviously lack humility. For they appear to be more interested in money
rather than humility. This leaves us only with the hope of some small
independent groups. To be honest, we are having difficulty finding an
organization or high profile person who purports to be a guardian of God’s
storehouse who fits all the above criteria. Either this means the ideal is too
high and impossible to attain, or that humans prefer not to live up to the
standards that God has laid down in the Bible.
This is a disappointing development
and indicates that we may not be able to conduct our experiment. Nevertheless,
we do not want to merely express an opinion, so since our aim is to prove that
the Bible is an unreliable document and not base our beliefs on what we observe
from the actions of those who purport that it is the authoritative word of God;
even though the evidence appears to be that such a claim is false, we would
still like to see if God is real. Or, to be scientific about the matter: we
would like to prove conclusively that the claims of the Bible are false.
Since is it unlikely that we will
find anyone who measures up to being the ideal candidate, we will settle for
the best candidate we can find; even though, from the criteria that we have
before us, it appears that our selection could not possibly be the guardian of
God’s storehouse. Since it is difficult to find anyone, maybe we might be able
to find someone or some organization that might qualify using different
criteria, while including as many of the ten criteria possible that are already
established as hallmarks for the guardian of God’s storehouse.
One thing that we have noted in the
Bible—being a genuine searcher for truth and having read it all—is that Jesus is
said to be a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Interestingly, we
found this in the book of Genesis:
When Abram heard
that his relative was taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his
house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. He divided
himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them, and
pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. He brought back
all the goods, and also brought back his relative, Lot, and his goods, and the
women also, and the other people.
The
king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of
Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (that is,
the King’s Valley). Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and
he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of
God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be God Most High, who
has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Abram
gave him a tenth of all.
The
king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, and take the goods for
yourself.”
Abram
said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High,
possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap
nor anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I
will accept nothing from you except that which the young men have eaten, and the
portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take
their portion”
(Gen.
14:14-24).
There are a number of features
within this passage from the Bible that are found in the New Testament. There
is the mention of Melchizedek, the tithe and the bread and the wine. There are
also two other features that are not quite so conspicuous—we will come to those
later.
To begin with, Melchizedek is
designated a high priest and king of Salem and according to the book of
Hebrews, by virtue of his name and status in society, he is a priest of
righteousness and king of peace. Jesus has been made a high priest of this same
order according to the book of Hebrews:
For this
Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning
from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham divided a
tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, king of righteousness, and
then also king of Salem, which is king of peace; without father, without
mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life,
but made like the Son of God), remains a priest continually. Now consider how
great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of
the best plunder. They indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s
office have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law,
that is, of their brothers, though these have come out of the body of Abraham,
but he whose genealogy is not counted from them has accepted tithes from
Abraham, and has blessed him who has the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed
by the greater. Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives
tithes of whom it is testified that he lives. We can say that through Abraham even
Levi, who receives tithes, has paid tithes, for he was yet in the body of his
father when Melchizedek met him. Now if there were perfection through the
Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what
further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of
Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood
being changed, there is of necessity a change made also in the law. For he of
whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has
officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord has sprung out of
Judah, about which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. This is yet more abundantly evident, if after
the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest, who has been made, not
after the law of a fleshly commandment, but after the power of an endless life:
for it is testified, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of
Melchizedek.”
For
there is an annulling of a foregoing commandment because of its weakness and
uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect), and a bringing in of a better
hope, through which we draw near to God.
Inasmuch as he was not made priest without the taking of an oath (for they
indeed have been made priests without an oath), but he with an oath by him that
says of him, “The Lord swore and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest
forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’”
By
so much, Jesus has become the collateral of a better covenant. Many, indeed,
have been made priests, because they are hindered from continuing by death. But
he, because he lives forever, has his priesthood unchangeable. Therefore he is
also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him,
seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them. For such a high
priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners,
and made higher than the heavens; who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to
offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the
people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself. For the law
appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath which
came after the law appoints a Son forever who has been perfected.
(Hebrews 7:1-28)
A cursory read of this passage
tells us that Jesus is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek because he
is righteous, brings peace and has eternal life. Jesus has also brought an end
to the Levitical priesthood and introduced a covenant that contains a
priesthood with better promises, namely, the Melchizedek priesthood.
While here it is suggested that the
Melchizedek Order is a new covenant, this is not the case when the whole Bible
is taken into account; only in respect to the Israelites, as a nation
established among other nations. As far as the nation of Israel was concerned,
the laws and statutes that were enshrined in the rites and rituals of religious
observance, were no longer required. Hence a new expression of demonstrating
faith in God, and the justice, mercy and love of the Creator towards his
Creation has been unveiled.
For as the tithe mentioned in
Malachi existed as an expression of faith towards God before the Levitical
priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood used the symbolism of the Bread and Wine
to express its everlasting virtue. This helps us understand why Jesus
introduced the bread and the wine at the last supper and instructed His
disciples to commemorate this as a remembrance of His death and resurrection
until He returns. The Apostle Paul was even instructed by the Lord Himself to
set up this rite and tells us so in the letter to the Corinthian Church:
For I received
from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the
night in which he was betrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke
it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in
memory of me.” In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in
memory of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or
drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body
and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
the bread, and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way
eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body. (1
Corinthians 11:23-29)
Many people complain about being
made to feel guilty because they do not tithe. People do not have to tithe. For
God only accepts a cheerful giver. Of course, there are many who believe God does
not want anybody to feel guilty if they are doing wrong. Yet here is the
Apostle Paul loading a guilt trip on those who participate in communion without
examining their hearts in a way that is acceptable to God. Maybe it is just a
coincidence that there is a curse associated with the tithe and communion, and
both have to do with the Melchizedek priesthood. In which case, if someone feels guilty about
something, then this could only be because they understand they are under a
curse but do not want to comply with the requirements for having the curse
removed. Understandably, we will all be guilty of trying to cheat God, if we
expect the blessings but do not want to honor our Heavenly Father and give Him
the glory He rightly deserves.
From a scientific perspective,
being seekers of truth, we have to ask the question: Does this curse have
anything to do with the fact the Melchizedek priesthood is an eternal order?
Could eternal punishment be real, too? However, these questions are not what we
are seeking to answer, we are seeking to develop a means by which we can
disprove God is not the author of the tithe and, as a corollary of this, He did
not inspire the writings of the Bible. If we cannot disprove God is not the
author of the Bible, we will have to accept the truth for what it is.
Admittedly, it is a setback for
this experiment, not being able to find anyone who claims to represent God and
fits all the ten criteria. The Apostle Paul wrote regarding the Jews, who
claimed to be the guardians of God’s storehouse:
For “the name of God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written. (Romans 2:24).
One thing we can draw from the
above passage in Hebrews about the Melchizedek priesthood is that it not a
priesthood that is inherited, but if anything ancestral was to be considered,
the best the Israelites appear to having going in their favor was Abraham
tithed to the one of whom it is testified he lives, because there is no
evidence of him having been born or died. We are told that because of this,
Melchizedek represents the Son of God
According to the Bible, the Son of God
is Lord Jesus Christ: who took on human form when entering the child of Mary,
the virgin; He then lived a sinless life, died on the Cross of Calvary to
redeem mankind from sin, and rose from the dead on the third day, before
ascending to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.
In the book of Ephesians, we learn
that when Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, He gave gifts to men to bring
people to the knowledge of the truth. These men sound like they might be
guardians of the storehouse. The following passage from the book of Ephesians
looks like providing some promising clues:
He gave some to
be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and
teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the
building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we may no longer be
children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking
truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Christ;
from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every
joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part,
makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love. This I say
therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the
Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their
understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is
in them, because of the hardening of their hearts; who having become callous
gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you
did not learn Christ that way; if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him,
even as truth is in Jesus: that you put away, as concerning your former way of
life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit; and that you
be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who in the
likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth
(Ephesians 4:11-24).
Once more, we see a standard that
requires much of the ten criteria that we have already identified, except for
prophecy and healing. This seems to remove two of the supernatural or
miraculous components out of the equation. The emphasis being on teaching and
living the truth, with the five nominated guardians in the office of apostle,
prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher expected to be servants of those whom
they are teaching. This suggests people who are not high-fliers or possess a
high profile, but people who are humble and lack deceit, who are prepared to
lay down their lives (like Abraham did when rescuing Lot) to motivate others
towards finding a life that is more fulfilling than what they formerly lived.
For such men and for the benefits those who are served by such men receive, the
members of the congregation would have to be giving God the glory.
No doubt, there are such
individuals around. What we need to do is find them. When we find such a person
or group of persons, we will then be able to conduct our experiment.
From what we have seen in the
Bible, and from what we have observed in the world around us, the question we
are attempting to answer is identified in the following proposal:
The Question
By accepting the challenge proposed
in the Book of Malachi, and tithing to
the best representative we can find that purports, and appears, to fit as much
criteria as possible, (dedicated servants as full-time workers, communion
celebrated weekly, congregation giving God the glory) we should be able to
verify whether the God of the Bible is true or not.
The Hypothesis
If this test of tithing disproves
or proves the worth of tithing, this will give us an indication of whether the
God of the Bible is true or not. This may not definitely prove that God is
true, but we can be sure that if there is not a distinct improvement in the
finances and lifestyle of the one tithing, that there is no value in tithing.
What a negative result would definitely indicate is the Bible is certainly not
inspired by God, but is merely the product of human imagination.
The Experiment
What we propose to do is for a
period of two years give ten per cent off the top as first fruits of the wages
we earn before deductions. We will keep all the appropriate receipts and we
will compare the outcome of our finances and lifestyle with another individual
on the same income who does not tithe. Both of us will begin from the same
position of possessing nothing. This way we will be able to determine whether
there is any benefit in tithing, and if so, then there is the possibility that
these principles are true. Receipts will be obtained from those to whom the
tithe is given. Receipts of wages from the employer will also be obtained to
prove that the ten per cent is actually tithed. All receipts will be official
for taxation records. Only the wage receipts will be collected from the
non-tithing participant.
The person doing the tithing will
attend a congregation for two years where communion of the bread and wine is
celebrated every week and teaching that is causing the congregation to grow in
number, because souls are having their lives affected in a more positive manner
than the lifestyle they had previously known.
Notations of each participant’s
activities and experiences will be kept weekly, as a record of quality of lifestyle
to see whether there are any measurable effects.
The Conclusion
Stanley Tam wrote a book entitled God
Owns My Business. Stanley was a struggling sales representative when he
opened a Gideon’s Bible one night and saw the text in Malachi. Stanley decided
to test God. Like Jacob, twenty years later, he was a wealthy man. Unlike Jacob
he was not breeding livestock. Nevertheless, by faithfully honoring God with
his tithe, Stanley Tam has been able to prove that the God of the Bible is
true. The United States Plastic Corporation is testimony to this.
My grandmother became a Christian
when she was sixty-eight years of age. She began tithing. As far as she was
concerned, she never looked back. She
died twenty years later. At the age of eighty-three, I personally witnessed her
comforting others who were younger than she was. One of her daughters, a
non-Christian, expressed to me her resentment that her mother, my grandmother,
gave so much money to the church. The joy my grandmother experienced after she
became a Christian and began tithing may not have endeared her to those of her
family who had their eyes on her purse. The many people she helped gave glory
to God, because this woman more than tithed. The last twenty years of her life was spent
rejoicing in the goodness of God and looking forward to the spending eternity
with her Lord, Who had opened the windows of blessing to her.
The truth is there are many
testimonies from people who have decided to return to God and tithe. These
testimonies number in the millions. These prove the Bible is the legitimate
inspired writing from the Omniscient Creator of Heaven and Earth, that anybody
who does not put Him to the proof, and bring the first tenth of their wages
into the storehouse, have no argument; for they have failed to demonstrate that
they are true scientists. The book of Proverbs states fools are not interested
in understanding the truth, merely in expression their own opinion. Take up the
challenge, and scientifically prove whether the God of the Bible is true.
However, in doing this, do not give to those institutions or persons that are
cursed because of the hypocritical and unrighteous and unbiblical activities
that are endorsed by their leaders. Find a place where the leaders are living
in accordance to the Biblical teachings, the congregation is growing and
communion is celebrated every week.
There was time when I was attending
a particular church and my income began to rise. In fact the contractor to whom
I was subcontracting had tried to cut my rates and I had prayed to the Lord
that this would not happen. More than this, being in the building industry,
work dried up for quite a number of people, but I became this contractor’s number
one sub-contractor. This was because, in all I did, I did to the Lord.
Consequently, when people attempted a malicious campaign to undermine me with
the contractor, he actually defended me.
A time came when because of the
money I was earning, in order not to let my left hand know what my right hand
was doing, I decided that it would be more prudent for me to siphon off some of
my tithe at another congregation where I had some affiliation previously. To
make things easier, I decided to alternate my tithe fortnightly between the two
congregations. What astonished me was what happened after the first week, and
then each following week after I had tithed at the other congregation. My
income doubled. Since I worked for myself, my weekly income could bounce
around, depending on the type of work that I took on and the amount of work
that I completed. Not only did my income double, but also the type of work that
I was receiving changed. I began to receiving
more of what was known as the cream within the industry, because it paid higher
for less effort and time than the more common work. It was only a matter of a
few months and I left the congregation I had been attending and decided to
rejoin the congregation that brought the greater blessings.
The reason why the blessing was greater
at the second congregation, I believe, had to do with the teaching. More of the
truths of the Bible were taught among this group of people than what were
taught at the previous congregation. This, of course, flowed into lives being
more sanctified and more on fire for sharing the truth of Jesus with other
people. Testimony and soul winning are a vital part of extending the Kingdom of
God. Jesus did not come to Earth so people could sit in comfortable pews and
have little Earthly bless-me clubs.
The reason Jesus came to Earth was
to redeem what had in effect been stolen by the Devil. This is the case, even
though, Adam relinquished his rights because he walked by sight and in unbelief
partook of the forbidden fruit that he saw Eve eat. Had Adam walked by faith,
he would have believed what God said, and not eaten of the forbidden fruit.
However, even though Jesus had to die on the Cross of Calvary to redeem us, we
still have to complete the work that He began, and this involves winning souls
and overcoming the Devil in our own lives; for we need to work out our
salvation even though God is at work in us (Philippians 2:12-13).
The truth is God loves us.
Jesus rejoices in us when we follow in His footsteps. The Holy Spirit only
wants us to experience more of Him in the bond of unity and peace. We who have
been born from above have no qualms about tithing to support the work of those
who are in full-time service and putting aside the same again to meet the needs
of brothers and sisters in need. Love, joy and peace become the rule in our
daily lives when the blessings never cease. Why live under the curse?
Complementary evidence:
Moral
The Ten Commandments Were Designed For You To Enjoy And Possess Life
Historical
EVIDENCE OF RED SEA CROSSING OF THE HEBREWS LEAD BY MOSES CONFIRMATION OF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK OF EXODUS
Medical
Healing of Vagina and Lip Cancer in Real Time
Moral
The Ten Commandments Were Designed For You To Enjoy And Possess Life
Historical
EVIDENCE OF RED SEA CROSSING OF THE HEBREWS LEAD BY MOSES CONFIRMATION OF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK OF EXODUS
Medical
Healing of Vagina and Lip Cancer in Real Time
*****
[i] To prosper more than what one would have done according to one’s own abilities is the blessing of God. Some people have billions, more have millions, most people struggle financially, but with God’s blessing, they will have much to rejoice about by proving him.
[ii] There always are exceptions to the rule. Forbes magazine did list cocaine distributor Joaquin Guzman as one of the richest men in the world. He escaped from jail in Mexico and is now a fugitive. Columbian cocaine distributor Pablo Escobar, considered to be the richest criminal ever, also was listed in the Forbes rich list. Police subsequently killed him. Other notoriously rich gangsters have been Carlos Lehder; Susumu Ishii; Anthony Salerno; Meyer Lansky.
[iii] Ptak, Justin. The Prehistory of Modern Economic Thought: The Aristotle in Austrian Theory Institute for Business Cycle Research Providence,
RI 02909 mises.org/journals/scholar/ptak1.pd
[iv] Traditionally, the rich man has been called “Dives.” This is not really the man’s name, rather it is the word “rich man” that is found in the text of the Latin Vulgate Bible.
[v] Price of Gold Hits All-Time High (23rd August, 2011) $1,913.50 an ounce Bloomberg.com.
[vi] Human capital is the skills, knowledge and experience possessed by people that are able to be turned into productive labor or monetary value.
[vii] Unfortunately for many in the old socialist bloc countries like Russia, the transition from the failure of the socialist economy to a true capitalist economy has been marred by oligarchies and plutocracies that have formed as those who formerly had power under the old system have sought to lay hold of the reigns in the transition. This has led to corruption and organized crime, while the old proletariat are out of work, with many left begging on the streets. Furthermore, this is the case in the USA and other First World economies, where people find themselves among the dispossessed and are living on the street also.
[viii] A study by three system theorists at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, published in 2011 has detailed 147 companies that control 60% of the global revenues and 737 companies that control 80% of the global economy. 147 Companies The Control Everything. Forbes.com. Aug.10. 2011.
[ix] Stanley Tam was going nowhere until he opened a Gideon’s Bible and read that those who do not tithe rob God. From that day, Stanley began tithing and not only did his life take on new meaning when his faith grew, he has been able to give away millions of dollars as a result. He went from being in poverty to a prince in the kingdom of God: Rich in Heaven and rich on Earth.
[i] Explained in How To Sine Like A Star
[ii] Oxford Dictionary.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/scientific-method—retrieved
Oct. 10, 2014
[iii] John 18:10 Simon
Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant,
and cut off his right ear.
[iv] English Standard
Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News
Publishers. Used by Permission.
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