Am I Robbing God? One Question that Exposed My Heart.

My name is Scott Brooks, and I am not perfect.

The good news? I am perfect in Christ's righteousness and by God's grace, I am growing to be more like Jesus.

Recently, I was listening to a podcast where a pastor I respect asked a pointed question: "Are you robbing God?" quoting Malachi 3:8. At first, I was confident the answer was no. I gave up my career to follow God's call into ministry. Marci and I gave equity out of our home to plant The Door Church. For eight years, I didn't contribute to retirement all with joy and conviction to see the gospel go forward.

But then he asked a follow-up question that stopped me cold:

Do you give God your first and your best?

That was a gut punch.

Marci and I have faithfully given. But as our kids have gotten older, activities and expenses have risen and somewhere along the way, I shifted from giving God first to giving God what's left. And according to Scripture, that is robbing God.

Let me explain.

"Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions."

- Malachi 3:8

God has been exposing a blind spot in my heart, one that's more common than most of us would like to admit: greed and selfishness.

Greed isn’t always obvious. It doesn’t always look like hoarding cash or chasing wealth. Sometimes it looks like anxiety when the bank account drops. Sometimes it looks like relief when it rises. Sometimes it looks like the wrong priorities, where money flows easily toward everything else, and God gets what’s left instead of what’s first.

I know, because that's been me.

I've tried to live by faith. I've given my life to the work of the gospel. But God, through His Word and the quiet conviction of His Spirit, has been showing me something uncomfortable: I still look to money for security more than I look to Him at times.

That's not a financial problem. That's a worship problem.

And one of the most powerful ways God breaks greed's grip on our hearts is through generosity. Giving loosens the chains of selfishness. It reorients our hearts toward the truth that nothing we have actually belongs to us, everything is a gift from a good Father, entrusted to us for stewardship.

THE TITHE - GIVING GOD FIRST

The word tithe means a tenth, but the deeper idea is priority. We give to God first, not from whatever's left over.

This principle runs deep in Scripture. When Abel brought the firstborn of his flock, God took notice. Cain brought an offering too, but not the first and best. The result?

"The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard." - Genesis 4:4–5

Both gave. Only one gave first.

Practically, tithing means bringing that first and best to your local church, where Christ is head and His mission is advancing. It's a constant declaration: God is my provider, not my paycheck.

QUESTIONS WORTH SITTING WITH

Are you robbing God?

Q. Is your giving an afterthought or an act of worship?

Q. Does your giving reflect what you say you believe?

Do you give to your local church first, from every paycheck?

Q. Does God get the first check or the last dollar?

Q. When you get paid, who gets paid first?

Money always reveals what we trust most.

THE GENEROSITY OF GOD

Here's the foundation beneath all of this: God is extraordinarily generous.

He has never withheld what you truly need. And the ultimate proof isn't a comfortable life or a full bank account, it's the cross.

Jesus didn't give us a portion of Himself. He gave us everything. 

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. - 2 Corinthians 8:9

Our generosity is never the starting point. It's always a response to a Father who gave first, gave fully, and gives still.

This week, before you pay a bill or buy a coffee, give first. See what God does with a heart that trusts Him.

Ready to take a step of generosity? Set up your giving at The Door Church: Give First and Best