Edwin Louis Cole’s classic book Maximized Manhood, identifies sins that kept Israel from reaching the Promised Land. If you have been born again and are connected in covenant to God through the tithe, these sins maybe the reason that you are not experiencing The Blessing in your life. So, what are the sins? They are identified in 1 Corinthians 10:

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

The sins identified in this passage are the following:

1. Lust
2. Idolatry
3. Fornication
4. Tempting Christ
5. Murmuring

If you need to understand what these sins are, please consider buying Dr. Cole’s book and read it. It will probably be enlightening for you to learn what these sins really mean especially lust (desire to get) versus love (desire to give), and idolatry (which can be as obvious as worshipping other gods or as subtle as creating a fantasy in your mind to satisfy yourself). If you have committed any of these sins, repent and follow the formula in 1 John 1:9 to remove it from your life:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

The first part of Deuteronomy 28 leads me to believe that it is impossible to do the following and not be a wealthy person:

1. Fully Obey God
2. Carefully Follow ALL His Commands

Blessings for Obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1-14 NIV)
If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Then, I thought, okay, so you get wealthy, couldn’t you just give it away?

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:38

So, it seems that even if you give it away, it will keep coming back to you. I’m not sure why you would want to refuse God’s desire to bless you. Although many Christians say they don’t want to be rich, I don’t understand this thinking especially in light of why we get blessed materially. The reason God blesses us is so that we can be a blessing thereby bringing thanks to God.

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. – 2 Corinthians 9:11

It all comes back to being willing and obedient. If we are willing and obedient, God promises to bless us. So, the question is, are you fully obeying God and carefully following ALL of His commands?