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AUTHOR: Aniel Barbe
The Master’s Appeal
Malachi 1:6
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is my honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.
We worship God with our tithe and offerings in response to the call to acknowledge Him as Master. Acknowledging the real Master can sometimes be a struggle.
The captain of the ship looked into the night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message, “Alter your course 10 degrees south.”
Promptly a return message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north.”
The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So, he sent a second message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am the captain!”
Soon another message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north—I am seaman third class Jones.”
Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: “Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am a battleship.”
Then the reply came, “Alter your course 10 degrees north—I am a lighthouse.”
Not acknowledging the One in charge, the real Lord, is always risky. For this reason, Malachi appealed to God’s people to return and acknowledge Him as Master. Hearing the call, the people responded in Malachi 3:7, “How are we to return?” In response, the Lord reminded His people that they had departed from Him by robbing Him “in tithes and offerings” (Mal. 3:8).
Each time we consider money as our source of status, protection, security, and even love, we elevate it to the rank of lord in the place of the real Lord. We allow money to compete with God for the position of Lord. The system of tithing was established to acknowledge God as Lord and Master. This week, let us not miss the opportunity of reiterating our confession of God’s Lordship by worshiping Him with our tithe and regular offerings.
Prayer: We are blessed to have you as Father and Lord. May our actions and giving reveal that we honor you as Lord and Father.