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Blessings And Curses


DaveW

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Mentioned in another thread about people using Malachi to scare people into giving to avoid a curse.

In my opinion this is only possible because of a false understanding of blessings that is promoted today.

We fall into the trap of thinking of blessings as when we are prospered.

Think about the way people talk about blessings and the kinds of things that we consider "blessings".

If we get a pay rise, it is a blessing.
If someone gives us a better birthday gift than we expected, it is a blessing.
If we get a good deal on a car it is a blessing, etc.

If we lose a jOB it is NOT a blessing, and we may even think that God is "teaching us a lesson".
That sort of thing.

(Mild form of prosperity gospel is what it is).

It is this general attitude that opens up the possibility for the kind of false Micah teaching spoken of.

Gain is good, loss is punishment.

Whereas the truth is that sometimes what we call a blessing can lead to covetousness, and sometimes what we think of as punishment can lead us closer to the Lord.
Which then is actually the blessing?
That which leads us closer to the Lord.

A right view of blessings etc will lead is to look differently at "the Malachi curse".

The Lord promises to provide us with that which we need - but that is not necessarily that which we want.
And the blessings He gives us are far more likely to be spiritual blessings than monetary or physical.

We are not seek after the things of this world, so why would He reward us by giving us the things which He tells us not to seek after?

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First, it is Malachi, not Micah.

Second, pastors use that passage for one purpose only.  To instill fear of a curse for not doing what God instructs; i.e., tithing.

The thing is, they take that verse out of its geographical and historical context and force it into an age it was never meant for and upon a people who were never meant to OBey it.

The blessings promised in that passage were not spiritual, they were physical.  It was rain from Heaven being poured out upon the Earth so that the gardens would produce a good harvest.  It was the promise that there would be such an abundant harvest that there would not be room enough to contain all of it. 

The curses associated with Malachi 3 are also physical.  They were loss of crops, draught and locusts.  Compare with Deuteronomy 28.

The Blessings and Curses associated with Malachi 3 were for Israel only, not other nations.  "all other nations shall call you (Israel) blessed." 
The command was for the sons of JacOB (Israel) and not for any other nation. 
The storehouse was in Israel and not in any other nation.
 

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Thanks for correction - it is early here and I am tired......

I know all that - I was trying to look through to a root cause rather than the technicalities of the actual passage.

If people had a right perspective on Godly blessings they would simply be less susceptible to such preaching.

We are trained in this world to think that when we get something it is good.
In reality, only that which brings us closer to the Lord is a godly blessing.

Often money draws us away from the Lord.

Get that right and the false application of the Malachi passage loses its impact.

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I think, like the roots of any plant, the roots of the Malachi doctrine taught in many Churches today spreads in many directions.

One root could be greed. A way to know if this is the case is to examine the lifestyle of the one presenting the message. Is he living lavishly? Does he only wear high dollar clothing? Drive outrageously expensive vehicles compared to those members of his congregation?

Another root may be ignorance. Has he studied the passage in light of all other Scripture that speaks of the command concerning tithing?

Another root could be tradition. Always been taught in this manner or method here.

Another root could be fear. Fear of offending members who might leave the Church if they discover the truth.

PrOBably many other roots, but you get the general picture, I am sure.

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Good points Dave. This matter also depends upon where the Christian lives. In the Western nations it's very much as you put forth. While they might not take it to the same exreme, it is indeed the kin of the prosperity gospel. Western Christians do tend to fixate upon the temporal, and especially upon themselves. Everything they see as good in this world is a blessing while negative things are curses.

 

Meanwhile, in many other countries Christians have a much different perspective. It's amazing to read of a Christian in India speaking of the blessing that their family kicked them out of the house because it led to them being able to share Christ with someone. Most often when I read of testimonies of Christians from India, Africa, Asia and a few other places, they speak much more of the spiritual realm than the worldly. They speak in terms of the advancement of God's kingdom, of spiritual growth, and if they do mention temporal things it's in the context of serving the Lord. If someone gives them 50 dollars they don't speak of the great personal blessing they received and how they bought themselves new clothes. Typically they speak of how they were able to use that money to help the needy, provide for a need at church, or to purchase Gospel tracts or Bibles. When they speak of matters Westerners would typically consider a curse, again they do so in terms of how the trial brought them closer to the Lord.

 

Scripture says we are to be looking to Christ, having our heart set on things above, putting Jesus and serving Him first place in our lives. To their credit, many in non-Western nations live such lives. To our shame, most of us in the Western nations are far more temporal minded and self-absorbed.

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Like our pastor said, if those who preach God will give you a hundredfold return on your money when you give to the church (or a particular ministry) then everyone in the church would be dropping in hundred dollar bills in the offering and every Christian would be very rich after a few months.

 

Does anyone think of these things when some shady preacher is telling the working poor or the poor widow woman to go ahead and send him their utility bill money so God will send them a hundred times as much back? Sadly, I've heard and read of a few of our Baptist preachers making similar statements.

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