I have shared before how I came to know Jesus. I was mentored immediately by Barbara and Milton. (I dedicated my Bible study on Jacob to them.) They made me part of their family, dusted me off, and pointed me to Jesus at every turn. They were given to me by a loving God.
I had not gone to church with them for long when they asked, “Do you tithe?”
“Tithe? What’s that?!”
They explained to me how God provides for all of our needs. All we have is provided by Him and He asks us to give only ten percent back to Him. They gave me a few scriptures to read and study and seek the Lord for myself. I was disappointed and wished they had given me more time before confronting me with this truth I knew I would have to obey. I feared I would not be able to meet my financial commitments including feeding myself and turning the heat on in winter – or worse.
I read the scriptures they gave me, “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:8-11).
I wrestled with this. I did not wrestle with its veracity, I wrestled with my obedience. I shared in another post how moving to my little apartment in Beaverton, Oregon would stretch me financially. It did. After rent and bills, I had thirty dollars for groceries. Groceries were cheaper then but I will say I supplemented with a lot of popcorn in those days. I could not see how tithing was going to benefit me and it was a scary proposition. Yet, the scripture said, “try Me” or “test Me in this” depending on your translation. Nowhere else in scripture does the Lord invite us to test Him. This must be important.
I decided I would test and see what the Lord would do for me. When payday came around, I tithed on my gross income. I wrote my tithe check first because I knew it would not be there at the end. I decided I would give to God first knowing there would not be enough at the other end and I would have to figure out what I could do from there. I wrote the first check, then I went through and paid my bills. I was right. I did not have the usual thirty dollars left when I was done. God was right. I had sixty!
In my obedience to tithe ten percent, He doubled what I had left! I still ate popcorn, but less as a staple and more often for enjoyment. I was able to breathe a little and I have never desired to not give my tithe to the Lord since then. There have been financial struggles along the way, but the blessings outweigh them all and our needs have always been met. Praise the LORD!
“Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty” (Pro 3:9-10).
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD” (Psalm 150:6)!