Condemning Silence

One of the things closely related to God being our Provider is the topic of tithing. It says in Malachi 3:10

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

I think that tithing is simply putting God first in our lives, especially in our finances. With our tithe we are telling God that we trust that He will provide for us with the remainder. It is tempting when we work, and bring home a paycheck to look at that money as our money, that we earned. But tithing is God’s way of reminding us that our money comes from Him, and ultimately is always His. Scripture tells us to tithe, not because the church needs the funds, but because it is important that we be givers, and not just Christians with a greedy, me first attitude.

It says in 2 Corinthians 9:7

7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in allthings, may have an abundance for every good work.

This is true for much more than just our money. We should be givers of our time, and our skills. What God gives us, we should always be ready to give back, as He desires.

I can remember many times that I had to make a decision between paying my tithe and paying a bill, and I can honestly say that every time, God provided the money for the bill, when I put Him first with the tithe.

A tithe is generally recognized to be a tenth of our income, but more important than how much we give, it is important to remember that it is ultimately about putting God first in our finances, and when we do, He promises to provide, every time.

Andrew Trivette Scripture Bible study, finances, tithing

This topic is one that has been of great personal interest to me for quite awhile. When I was trying to get through college, working as much as I could, it seemed like I never had enough money to go around. I was always worrying about how to pay the next bill, or whether I could afford to fix my car, buy groceries, etc.  When I was almost finished with school, I knew my current job was coming to an end, and felt like the Lord wanted me to start my own business. It scared the heck out of me, because I liked to know exactly how much money was coming in, where it was coming from, and be able to make my own plans based on that.

In other words, I liked to be in control.

But I went ahead and started my business, still worrying the whole time about where the money was coming from, and how to pay my bills. After a month or so into my business, I was sitting worrying about some bill or the other, when the Lord abruptly asked me: “Have I ever not taken care of you? Have I ever not provided for your needs?”

As simple as it was, it stunned me. I had spent the previous several years miserable when it came to money, but when I looked back I realized that every bill had been paid on time, and every situation had been taken care of. From then on it was as if a huge burden had been released. I didn’t have to worry when the end of the month came around, and there was no money, because I knew God would provide. And He did, every time. The difference was not that God started providing, the difference was that I started trusting Him.

It is important that we believe not only that God can provide for us, but that He will provide for us, because He wants to provide for us.

Andrew Trivette Random Ideas Bible study, provider

Listen to: I Agree with Marx

Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.

- Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right

This is the somewhat famous quote that gave rise to the “religion is the opiate of the masses” phrase. I believe it is quite accurate. Religion is indeed the opium of the people. It is in fact the sigh of the oppressed creature. If we wish to realize true happiness, then we do indeed need to give up our reliance on the illusion that religion can be the source of our happiness.

Perhaps I ought to clarify what I mean by religion. I see religion as the organized traditions, rules, and beliefs centered around a deity. It contains a system of rewards and punishments which are meted out based on the followers adherence to the rules. It provides in return a sense of security, belonging, hope, and even superiority over those who don’t follow it.

I hate religion, even Christianity. It’s powerless to change my life. It is incapable of giving me peace in difficult times. It’s rules fail to provide security in an increasingly unstable world. It’s a complete waste of my time. A country club has fewer rules and requirements, and a lot more benefits than the average church.

I love Jesus though! He’s changing my life for the better every day. He gives me a reason to live. He’s my unchanging foundation when all hell comes crashing down. He’s my hope, my future, and my identity.

I dare say if Marx had ever been introduced to Jesus, instead of the religion built around His name, he would have written a different story!

If you believe otherwise, tell me about it! Let’s talk. What have we got to lose?

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.

- Jesus

Andrew Trivette Random Ideas Bible study, marx, opiate of the masses, podcast, tradition

Listen to: That You May Fully Share Our Joy

1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. 5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.1 John 1:1-5 NLT

I love how John starts out, you can almost feel the excitement in his words when he talks about the time he spent with Jesus.

He makes sure you understand that he’s not telling you about a great person he’s heard about, but someone he’s personally experienced. Rather than simply imparting knowledge, he’s pouring his heart out about his greatest love.

Then he goes on to say that he so desparately wants the reader to experience Jesus as well.
He’s not telling us about a great new self-help plan. He’s not telling us about the best lifestyle, or how to become successful, or find the perfect mate. No, he’s telling us about the one person who completely turned his life upside down. He’s not reminiscing about the time Jesus turned his life around, but about how Jesus is continually changing his life for the better. When we move from knowing about Jesus to experiencing Him, then our joy can be complete. Our fellowship(our having the most important thing in our life in common with each other) becomes the unbreakable, unexplainable bond, that binds us together.

I think this passage provides such a great example of how we are to tell others about Christ. We’re not giving them a formula, or imparting important information with them. We’re simply telling them how God has, and is, changing our lives. It’s not something we do, or get training for. “Witnessing” becomes a natural extension of who we are. When you’re excited about what God is doing in your life, you’re gonna talk about it. Nothing is going to stop you.

We see countless other examples of this throughout Scripture. When the prophet Jeremiah was going through his darkest hour, he toyed with idea of giving up, and remaining silent. But when it came down to it, here’s what he had to say:

“But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!” Jeremiah 20:9 NLT

When Peter and John were jailed by their religious leaders, and upon their release warned not to teach in the name of Jesus, here’s what they had to say:

But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Acts 4:18-20 NKJV

John further emphasizes throughout the rest of the chapter, that God is perfect, that we should recognize that we are not, but that it shouldn’t hold us back from serving God with everything that we have. John levels the playing field for everyone of us, regardless of our state in life, our position, etc. We all sin, and we’re all capable of being forgiven. If John can put himself on the same “level” with his readers, then can we really use our position, education, or anything else to make an excuse not to serve Him with our entire life?

We can find so many excuses not to spend time in the presence of God, when it seems like we have our whole life ahead of us, with plenty of time to get our act together, then serve the Lord. In reality, there is no better time, no greater time in our life, in which we can give our lives, our time, and our passion to God.

Andrew Trivette Random Ideas Bible study, podcast