DOING BUSINESS WITH THE WICKED (2)
2 Chronicles 20:35-37 (AMPC)
“35 After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly.
36 He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, building them in Ezion-geber.
37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, because you have joined Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your works. So the ships were wrecked and unable to go to Tarshish.”
Dear people of God, in the first part of the post on this topic, I made reference to the fact that a Christian should not engage in business with another Christian who does not pay tithes, who cheats others or lives and deals very wickedly with others because such a person is breaking God’s law.
I also stated that if a Christian who pays tithes enters into business dealings with another Christian who does not pay tithes, such business would not prosper.
Now, someone may ask what this has to do with the topic, “Doing Business with the Wicked.”
One of the definitions of the wicked from the dictionary is someone who is unlawful or unrighteous.
Now, the Bible tells us that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness - Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3.
It therefore follows that when God has made a law or decree, it is counted as righteousness for those who believe and obey.
It is also counted as unrighteousness for those who do not believe and disobey God’s commandments.
God has made a law concerning tithes. God says from the income or resources He, God Almighty and Father of my Lord and Saviour has given you, give Him just 10% or a tenth of it.
What is this 10% used for? It is paid to your local Church for propagating the Gospel to lost souls who need to hear the message of Repentance from sin and Salvation found only in Christ Jesus.
This 10% is used to build and maintain churches, pay pastors’ salaries, organize Gospel Crusades, print tracts, place adverts for Gospel programs, pay for air time on radios and televisions to propagate the Gospel, travel to foreign countries, pay for accommodation, hire places to start planting churches, help the poor and needy within the Church and so on and so forth.
Those who are Christians are mandated to engage in these activities as a demonstration of their love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus says in John 14:15 (AMPC), “If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.”
What then can we infer of the person who violates God’s law by refusing to pay tithes? Does such person believe God? Can such a person claim to love God?
The answer is an obvious NO!
Now, can such a person be called a wicked person? From the definition of a wicked person as unrighteous or unlawful, YES, such a person can be called a wicked person.
This is what God says clearly concerning tithe defaulters in Malachi 3:8-9, “Will a man rob or defraud God? Yet you rob and defraud Me. But you say, in what way do we rob or defraud You? [You have withheld your] tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation. [Lev. 26:14-17.]
Let us see what God says concerning those who break His commandments in Leviticus 26:14-17, “But if you will not hearken to Me and will not do all these commandments,
15 And if you spurn and despise My statutes, and if your soul despises and rejects My ordinances, so that you will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant,
16 I will do this: I will appoint over you [sudden] terror (trembling, trouble), even consumption and fever that consume and waste the eyes and make the [physical] life pine away. You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
17 I [the Lord] will set My face against you and you shall be defeated and slain before your enemies; they who hate you shall rule over you; you shall flee when no one pursues you.
Dear friend, take a good look at the last statement in verse 16. The Lord says the person shall sow seed in vain, for his enemies shall eat it.
The tithe defaulter has broken God’s covenant by refusing to pay tithes. Drawing from the above Scripture in Leviticus 26:16 and Malachi 3:9, such person would sow seed in vain because he is under a curse placed by God.
If you then enter into a business dealing with such person who is under a curse from God and who would sow seed in vain, how do you expect the business seed to prosper?
You can see why as a Christian you must ensure that the person you partner to do business with who claims to be a Christian must be a tithe payer otherwise that business would not prosper.
A Word is enough for the wise. Pay your tithes from ALL your income to your local Church where you worship.
May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Righteous Name, Amen.
Gabriel Ama.
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