THIEVING
MONEY

Topics: Character; Faithfulness; Finances; Generosity; Giving; Greed; Honesty; Prosperity; Riches; Stealing; Stewardship; Stinginess; Tithing

References: Deuteronomy 15:7; Malachi 3:6–12; Matthew 6:1–4; 19:21; Luke 6:38; Acts 5:1–11; 2 Corinthians 8:1–9:15

A twelve-year-old member of the church I pastor recently left a five-dollar bill on my desk with a note that read, “I have my thieving money,” along with her signature.

I couldn’t figure out what she meant. Had she stolen money she was now returning? When I saw the girl’s father the next Sunday, I mentioned the money and note and asked if he could tell me what she meant. With no hesitation, he said that it was her tithe. She obviously had misspelled tithing.

As I thought about the misspelling, I realized that for those who do not tithe, they really do have a stash of “thieving” money, for as the Bible suggests, the one who refuses to tithe is stealing from God.

—Kirtes Calvery, Raymore, Missouri