Are you robbing God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, ” `My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a `den of robbers.'”
(Matthew 21:12-13 (NIV))

It is easy to turn our worship into something less than it actually is. Jesus took one look at the activities in the Temple and got mad. What God had intended for man to use to turn to God had been turned into a business venture. It was supposed to be a solemn act of reverence and atonement, but it had been turned into a venture that prospered a select few.

Think about that.

Do we still have a tendency to do such things? Do we try to turn what should be a solemn and sincere act of worship into something that will benefit us? I think that we have all been guilty of something like this. It is human nature to try and manipulate every situation so that we come out on top. To put this in context of the church, it is easy to see that we could quickly become focused on receiving a little more than the next person. It may not seem like much, but think about the last time that you tried to get on the good side of the preacher at your church. I bet that you can even think about a time when you needed money for a certain function that you were wanting to happen. When we play these games, is it for the glory of God or is it because we don’t want to lose or appear not to be on top? What about the family in the church that is not as well off as everyone else? Do you try to shun them and block the blessings that God wishes to bestow upon them?

You may not actually be making money on your activities, but would Jesus find you guilty of being a den of robbers? Are you robbing yourself? Are you robbing the blessings from others? Are you robbing God?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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