A Christian student works honestly on his assignment. He refuses to cheat. His friend, however, plagiarises his work. In the end, the student receives a B-, while his friend gets an A.
A Christian salesperson refuses to lie or exaggerate to close more sales. As a result, he is passed over for promotion, while colleagues who were dishonest in their dealings are promoted ahead of him.
A Christian business owner refuses to pay bribes in order to secure a deal. His competitors seize the opportunity and win the contract through dishonest means.
A Christian chooses to serve God—in church or in missions—and in doing so misses opportunities that her peers use to upgrade themselves, build wealth, and advance their careers.
Do these sound familiar?
These are the realities many of us face every day—in school, at work, and in society.
At times it seems like choosing God’s way doesn’t pay in this world.
We may go to church each Sunday offering Him praise. But during the weekdays, we grumble in our hearts. We quietly question God. We are tempted to reject His ways—because they don’t seem to pay.
This struggle is not new.
God’s people have wrestled with these same questions before. In the days of the prophet Malachi, the Israelites found themselves disillusioned and discouraged, wondering whether faithfulness to God was worth the cost. It was into this very mindset that God sent Malachi to speak His searching and corrective word to the people.
Malachi 3:13-18 begins with God bringing a charge against His people.
God says in verse 13, ‘Your words have been hard against Me.’ In other words, the people had been speaking harshly and disrespectfully toward God.
But the people responded by acting as if they did not know what God was talking about. They replied, ‘How have we spoken against You?’”
God replied: [14] You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? [15] And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’
What’s the point of choosing God's ways in a world that doesn’t reward them? What’s the point of choosing holiness and self-denial when the world thrives on greed and self-preservation?
In Malachi 3:16-18, God challenged His people not to think or feel this way. He gave 3 compelling reasons:
1. God remembers those who choose to walk in His ways
Firstly, to those who would choose to fear Him and and follow His ways, God will remember them.
Vs16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.
Vs 16 gives us a picture of a group of faithful believers coming together to encourage one another to remain faithful in the Lord. God assured them that His eyes are upon them. He hears their conversations, their devotion, their faithful commitments. He actually keeps record of who they are, what they said and what they chose to do.
In days when you feel you are forgotten by this world for choosing to follow God. God says He will not forget you. He will remember you!
In the Bible, the promise of remembrance is sometime used interchangeably with the promise of reward. For example:
- Psalm 112:6 - “Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.”
- Heb 6:10 - “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints…”
God will remember and reward those who chooses to fear Him and follow His ways.
2. God calls those who walk in His ways His very own
Secondly, to those who fear Him, God will make them His very own children.
Vs17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
God is saying to those who fear Him, “You are Mine—My treasured possession, My sons and daughters.” What an amazing declaration!
Just imagine this for a moment. A king comes to you one day and says, “From today onward, you will be my child. You will be a prince… you will be a princess.”
Your status changes instantly. Your future changes instantly.
To belong to a king means the king now takes charge of your welfare—just as an earthly father takes responsibility to care for his children.
And this is what God is saying. To those who choose to follow Him and His ways—even when it seems like it doesn’t pay in this world—God says, “You are Mine.”
And because you are His, He will care for you, provide for you, and watch over you as His own children. What an incredible promise!
3. God will one day judge the world according to His ways
Lastly, God promises that there will come a day when He will judge the world according to His ways.
Vs 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
One day, God will judge the world. And on that day, He will clearly distinguish between the righteous and the wicked.
Those who choose to walk in His ways—even when it seems like it doesn’t pay in this world—will be counted among the righteous. But those who choose the ways of the world—lying, bribing, cheating, and living without regard for God—will be counted among the wicked.
And God will deal with them differently. The wicked will face His judgment. But the righteous will receive His compassion and lovingkindness.
Just as a father shows compassion to a child who serves him, so the Lord will show mercy to those who belong to Him.
So take heart, my friends, for those who choose to walk in God’s ways, even when it doesn’t pay in this world:
- God remembers and will reward them.
- God will call them His very own and take good care of them.
- And one day, God will judge the world according to His righteous ways.
How then can we be those who walk in His ways?
In Ezekiel 36:26–27, God promises His people: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you… And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
This prophecy is fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
Through Jesus Christ, God’s people have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit now indwells every believer. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to choose God’s ways.
If we rely on our own strength, we will fail. But if we depend on the Holy Spirit, we will receive divine help and guidance.
So let us give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins and made it possible for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
And let us learn to depend on the Holy Spirit each and every day, trusting Him to shape our hearts and guide our obedience.
Let us also be like the faithful believers described in Malachi 3:16—those who gathered together, spoke with one another, and encouraged one another to fear the Lord and remain faithful, even when it didn't seem to pay.
For we know that God remembers and rewards those who choose His ways, He will treat them as His very own, an He will one day judge the world according to His ways.