Publisher's Synopsis
What happens to the spirit of generosity of the average person when the economies of the world melt down around them? How are charitable individuals committed to obedient giving going to navigate through budget breakers like runaway gas prices, high food costs, unemployment, and tax increases, to pay for a government spending frenzy? Robbing God is simply a book about personal freedom-a freedom that is experienced when individuals discover the kind of giving first demonstrated by a loving God. A God that has not withheld anything from those he loves. Somehow, as with many of the bible's teachings and principles, some have managed to turn the act of giving into little more than a self-serving personal agenda, complete with greed and corruption. While some may teach that giving produces personal gain and wealth, many give for the sheer joy and privilege of giving. God was the ultimate giver and created us in his image. We are certainly at our best when we learn to give cheerfully, just as he gave. Is it really possible to rob God? If so, who is capable of robbing God? For many years I have watched money collected in many places and in many ways. I've heard and witnessed the simple, the sublime, and the ridiculous. It is not difficult for us to understand giving. There is something within all of us, a part of our nature that wants to give. Our hearts respond to the needs of others. We see ordinary hero's jump into action everyday when people are in trouble. Giving is as natural for us as receiving. If we made a list of all the ways we give on a daily basis, we would truly be amazed. Opening a door, helping a child, picking up the tab for lunch, sharing a cookie, saying a prayer, offering an encouraging word, there is really no end to the list. We do it willingly and without coercion or manipulation the majority of the time. All of us are givers. Giving is not just a rich man's game. Jesus called attention to a poor elderly widow woman that with two pennies, gave more than all those he witnessed giving at a temple. He also informed us that by giving to the least we were also giving to him. How is it that we have managed to take the joy out of so much of our giving? I can't accept that God's love for a cheerful giver is limited to cash on hand. God gave his son. Jesus gave his life. What little we give should at the very least be given cheerfully. So here it is, our "aha!" moment, a moment to let our guard down in order to experience the joy of giving, a moment to learn how to recognize and resist the guilt driven, coerced, and manipulated giving that robs us of the ability to give cheerfully. It is scripturally and contextually inaccurate to emotionally manipulate an offering out of the faithful by suggesting they are robbing God if they don't give. If we trust God and trust one another, we need not out of fear, rely on manipulative practices to fund God's work or provide for our own needs. A cheerful God provides for his children, and he loves it when we cheerfully give.
