Submit 3

Malachi 3:10

One of my favorite comedy routines is from Mitch Hedberg (now deceased). He talked about buying a donut and having the clerk try to give him a receipt. He said that he couldn’t imagine the circumstances in which he would need to prove to someone that he owned the donut.

There are many things in life that we may approach with doubts and skepticism, things for which we may want a guarantee, and often chief among them is anything to do with money. We are often of the belief that we should not test God. We should not make God prove His existence or His love. Yet this passage in Malachi has an invitation from God to do just that.

What does God ask for? What is the purpose? What will we receive if we give to God?

Many people may not be familiar with the concept of the “tithe.” Simply, a tithe is a gift to God of ten percent. We are called by God in the Old Testament to give God ten percent of what we have received. If we are paid $10,000 we should give one tenth to God - $1,000.

Some will point out that this is an Old Testament requirement and that we don’t obey all the rules of the Old Testament. This is true, but many faithful believers still adhere to this command from God. I offer a tithe because I feel in my heart that I should, and it makes the math so much simpler in my giving.

Whether we give a full ten percent or not we are called to make offerings to God and God’s work (the church) from our finances. No matter how much or how little our giving is there will be times when we may feel uncomfortable sacrificing some of our money. Giving up even a small amount of our income can bring about fears and doubts.

But God challenges us to make Him prove Himself. If we will have the faith to give God a portion of our money God will respond with extreme blessings. In God’s own words the blessings will be so abundant that we will not have room for it all. This is an invitation from God. We are challenged to find the proof of God’s faith. The question is, do we have the faith to give to God?

DAILY CHALLENGE: Can you make God prove His faithfulness and pour out blessings on you?