“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s”. These words of Jesus are usually used to encourage Christians to pay their taxes. While we may not always agree with the decisions made by our government, Jesus let’s his enemies know that God’s people are to pay their taxes. His enemies had hoped to trap Jesus, because it was against Judaic law to engrave images. The coins used by Jesus’ enemies to try and trick Jesus into disobeying the law was a Roman coin with the engraved image of the emperor on it.

While obedience to the secular law is important, Jesus’ response also includes the following: “and to God the things that are God’s.” Here in America the Internal Revenue Service is good at letting us know what we as citizens owe the government, it is not always understood by Christians what we owe God. While the Bible is quite clear that we are to give God ten percent of our income, somehow the tithe is looked upon by many Christians as an option. In fact, some will argue that giving of one’s time and talents to God replaces the giving of the tithe.
However, St. Paul in his writing to the Colossians states, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” In other words, we are to be living our lives completely for the Lord. Also, when Jesus was asked which of the commandments was the most important, he replied, "The most important one is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' (NIV, Mark 12:28-30)

There is a lot of talk these days about how to solve this nation’s financial crisis. Well, I believe that it begins in the Church. I say this because Jesus called the Church the salt of the earth. Matthew writes, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.”

Until the people of God start walking the walk that Jesus commanded us to do, this nation is going to continue to go downhill. If we want God to bless this nation, then we need to start serving God the way Christ told us to serve Him. Our nation’s financial demise will not be straightened out until we Christians start giving back to God what is owed to God. I say this because the average giving of most Christians per year before this recession was $1,200.00. Now unless the average Christian’s income was only $12,000.00 per year, then there are a whole lot of Christians who were not tithing. Since the recession, the Church has fallen on hard times. Well brothers and sisters in Christ unless we want to see our income levels fall down to what our giving levels are to God, then we need to start living the walk.

The prophet Malachi told the people of Israel who were going through hard times to stop holding back the tithe from God. Malachi writes, “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 you will not have room enough for it.”
If we want to see prosperity in this nation and throughout the world, then we Christians need to start living up to our commitments of what it means to be a Christian, which includes tithing. There is only one group according to the scriptures that is exempt from the tithe and that was the tribe of Levites. The Levites were the priests. The people of Israel were to bring their tithes to the priests. The tithe was to support the priests and their families, because the priest was set aside to do the work of the Lord.

Today, instead of claiming this scriptural exemption, priests choose to tithe as an example for the people of God to follow. Yet, in too many churches, the priest is one of the highest givers in the parish. This is not because the priest is making more than the rest of the congregation. It is because the priest is usually one of the few who is giving of the tithe. So much for setting an example! Most members of the Church continue to give the Lord the leftovers when the tithe is to be the first fruits of our labor. Yet, after all the other bills are paid, plus the other expenditures, then whatever is left is given to the Lord. Then we have the audacity to turn on the news and get upset, because the economy is going to hell in a hand basket.

As the Pharisees said of Jesus, He shows no deference to anyone and does not regard people with partiality. So we can come to church every Sunday and obey all the Ten Commandments, yet if we are not giving of the tithe to God, then we are in trouble. As the prophet Malachi told the people of Israel, “Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you!”
The entire nation of Israel was suffering, because the people of God were not tithing. Like today, there were probably a few who tithed, just like the handful in this parish that tithe and the few Christians in this land who continue to tithe. However, as we have seen from the statistics, tithing among Christians overall is not happening. We would rather keep the tithe for ourselves and give God the change. In the meantime, like Israel of long ago, the economic institutions so many of us depended on are on the brink of bankruptcy or leaving this country to expand their business elsewhere. Many American businesses are going to China a nation whose government forbids freedom of religion. Yes, God is blessing the godless nations above His own people. Unless we let go of our purse strings and open up our wallets for the Lord, we will see this nation fall. America is being chastised, because we Christians have forgotten our first love who is the Lord God Almighty. We pay our taxes to the government, but we have neglected paying the Lord His tithe. America is now reaping what the Church has sown. Do not think that the Church will not be held accountable for her lack of giving. We have been judged and found wanting.

Yet, if we would but repent and give unto the Lord the honor due unto His name not just with our mouths, but in our tithes and offerings, then we will see the mercy of the Lord. This nation can be healed. There is still hope. Will America rise or fall? We the Church hold the answer.