Edition 64
Rob
Last Edition Recap
How have you applied the last edition to your life?
Opening Prayer
Loving God, giver of all good things, teach us to live generously in response to Your abundant provision. Amen.
Introduction
Two well-worn banknotes found themselves deposited at the bank one day – a £20 note and a £200 note. Whilst waiting to be collected, they struck up a conversation. The £200 note regaled his companion with tales of adventure: “I’ve been everywhere! The Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Sydney Opera House, Vegas casinos. I’ve dined in the world’s finest restaurants, seen spectacular shows, travelled on luxury cruises.”
“And you?” he asked the £20 note. “Where have you been?”
“Oh,” replied the smaller note modestly, “I’ve been to the Methodist church, the Catholic church, the Lutheran church, and various other churches.”
The £200 note paused, puzzled. “What’s a church?”
This simple story reveals an uncomfortable truth about our relationship with money and God. We readily spend lavishly on ourselves – the best restaurants, entertainment, holidays – yet when it comes to God’s house, we clutch our wallets tightly. We choose the finest for ourselves but offer God the leftovers. It’s a form of robbery, though we rarely see it that way. We rob God of what is rightfully His, and in doing so, we rob ourselves of the blessings He longs to pour out.
Chat Point 1
How would you describe the difference between giving to God and giving to charity?
What emotions surface when you hear discussions about money in church?
How do you think our spending habits reflect our spiritual priorities?
What might prevent someone from giving generously to God’s work?
How could viewing everything we have as God’s rather than ours change our perspective on giving?
Read
Malachi 3:6-18; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Key Focus
Malachi 3:10 – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
Chat Point 2
What stood out for you about God’s challenge and promise in this passage?
How would you explain the connection between robbing God and robbing ourselves?
What does God’s invitation to “test me in this” reveal about His character?
How might faithful giving transform both the giver and the community of faith?
What practical steps could help someone move from reluctant to joyful giving?
Final Thought
The tale of the two banknotes exposes our double standard. We instinctively choose the clean over the dirty, the fresh over the rotten, the new over the worn – except when it comes to our offerings to God. John Wesley observed that “the last part of a man to be converted is his wallet,” and centuries later, this remains painfully true.
Malachi 3:10 presents God’s remarkable challenge: “Test me in this.” It’s the only place in Scripture where God invites us to test Him. He promises that faithful giving doesn’t deplete us but opens heaven’s floodgates. When we bring the whole tithe – not the leftovers, not the spare change, but the first and best – God responds with blessing that overflows beyond our capacity to contain it.
The contrast with Islam’s obligatory Zakat is striking. Whilst Muslims are required to give for their faith’s growth and sustainability, Christianity relies on voluntary faithfulness. God doesn’t force us; He invites us into partnership. Yet when we withhold from God, we live under a self-imposed curse, missing the abundance He desires to give. We rob God of His rightful portion, the church of its mission resources, and ourselves of spiritual blessing.
The £200 note never discovered what a church was because the £20 note was all that ever arrived there. But imagine if it were reversed – if our best went to God’s work first. The church would thrive, the Gospel would spread, and we would discover the profound truth that we cannot out-give God.
My Action
What key insight or learning from this session resonates most with me, and what do I sense God is inviting me to do in response?
Shared Prayer
What are your prayer requests?
Closing Prayer
Almighty Father, break our grip on what we falsely claim as ours and teach us the joy of generous kingdom living. Amen.
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In-Between Chats: Personal Reflection
How might your life change if you truly believed everything you have belongs to God?
What specific area of your finances could you surrender to God’s control this week?
How could you move from viewing tithing as obligation to seeing it as opportunity for partnership with God?
Edition Writer: Rev Kevin Zondagh
Methodist Minister, Personal Development Specialist, Life Coach, Relationship Coach and Executive Coach. Founder and Owner of Exemplar Coaching Pty Ltd and CoffeeChatConnect. "We should have the desire to custom design the only life we have. After-all, we buy designer everything. How much more should we Live by Design, not by default?"