Rob: Stealing From God
To rob someone is to take what belongs to them or to withhold what is rightfully theirs. In Scripture, the idea of robbery stretches far beyond material theft: it reaches into our relationship with God, encompassing the love, worship, obedience, and gratitude that we owe to Him. This article examines what it means to rob God, why it matters, and how Jesus calls His people to live in freedom, honesty, and full surrender.
The Command and the Covenant
One of the Ten Commandments plainly says, “Do not steal” (Ex 20:15). Under the old covenant, the nation of Israel was specifically accused of robbing God because they failed to bring the tithe He had required of them. By withholding what belonged to Him, they placed themselves under a curse (Lev 27:30; Mal 3:8). The same prophetic warning makes clear that this was not only a matter of the temple treasury: God Himself promises to step in as a swift witness against anyone who keeps back the pay a worker has earned (Mal 3:5). The principle was clear: God is the owner of all things, and to keep back what He has designated for His purposes is a form of theft.
Christians today are not bound by the Old Testament tithe in the same way Israel was, yet the heart of the issue remains. It is still possible to rob God whenever we fail to give Him what He is owed. He has not changed in His rightful claim upon our lives, and anything less than our full devotion falls short of His worth.
What We Owe to God
What, then, does God require? He deserves our wholehearted love, trust, obedience, service, and worship, which includes the way we use our finances. Everything we have comes from Him: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (1 Tim 6:17; Jas 1:17). Because every blessing originates with God, He will not share the honour and credit that are due to Him with anyone or anything else (Isa 48:11).
We rob God when we neglect to pray, when we withhold worship, when we ignore the needs of others, and when we are slow to thank Him for answered prayer. Jesus observed this ingratitude when He healed ten lepers and only one returned to give thanks (Lk 17:11-18). God deserves nothing less than the absolute best of our time, attention, obedience, devotion, and resources.
The reason is profound: we owe the Lord our very lives, because He redeemed us from an eternity separated from Him (1 Pet 1:18-19). We are therefore called to express His ownership of our lives by abandoning ourselves in wholehearted devotion to Him alone (Ex 20:3-5; Mk 12:30).
We owe everything to Him — am I giving my all?
The way we treat people usually mirrors the way we treat God. Just as withholding tithes, worship, or obedience robs the Lord, so withholding wages or dealing dishonestly robs our neighbour. The two cannot be separated: a heart that is careless toward God will soon become careless toward those made in His image.
A New Way of Living
The Bible’s commands are not meant to police a few rules; they are meant to direct every part of our lives. When God tells us not to steal, He is not only protecting our neighbour’s property—He is shaping the way we work, pay, trade, love, and worship.
Jesus did not leave people without practical instruction. When tax collectors and soldiers came asking how to show genuine repentance, He told them not to demand or extract more than what was required or legitimate (Lk 3:12-14). The apostle Paul echoed this transformation when he wrote, “Let him who stole, steal no more but get a job” (Eph 4:28). The Bible instructs employers not to withhold wages from workers (Lev 19:13; Deut 24:14,15; Jas 5:4). God Himself promises to step in as a swift witness against anyone who keeps back the pay a worker has earned (Mal 3:5), so the call to honesty reaches into every relationship. True repentance produces honest work and a refusal to take advantage of others.
Even when Christians are wronged, their response is different from the world’s. Believers can joyfully accept the loss of earthly possessions, secure in the knowledge that the possession of eternal life cannot be taken away (Heb 10:34).
Satan, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy (Jn 10:10). Through false guilt, ignorance or deception he wants to cheat us out of receiving the benefit of what Jesus regained for us at the cross into our spirits and lives. Don’t let Satan rob you of the liberating truth of your full inheritance and victory in Christ but press into all God has for you (Phil 3:12-14).
In Jesus name, take back what the enemy has stolen from you
Reflection and Application:
- Examine whether you are withholding from God any area of your life—time, money, worship, or obedience—that rightfully belongs to Him.
- Cultivate a habit of thanksgiving, remembering that every good gift comes from the Father and deserves a grateful response.
- Choose honest work and fair dealings, refusing to take advantage of others in your personal or professional life.
- Resist the enemy’s lies by declaring the victory Christ has won and pressing forward into the fullness of your inheritance in Him.
See also: Jesus/name of, stealing, thief, tithe, victory.