written by one of our partners in ministry at FBC, Dr. Dick Ivey
Malachi 3:10
Even as this Old Testament post-exilic prophet began to explore how the presence and protection of God might be restored to His people, he recognized that there was a cause and effect relationship between how our gratitude gets expressed to God and His provision for us.
Remembering that these were still primitive people and that God had not yet introduced the concept of proportional giving to His people, He simply reminded Israel that if they were generous with Him, He would literally open the windows of heaven and pour out more blessings than they could imagine.
I wish I had the attribution for this story (it may have been Charles H. Spurgeon or perhaps Peter Marshall who told this story) but it fits here.
In discussion with a very rich man, the rich man said he made too much money and had too many responsibilities to give more than a “tip” to God. The author of this story told the man that if could not bring himself to give in proportion to his earnings, perhaps God could reduce his income to the level that his giving represented.
Surely the principle of giving at least at the level of the primitive people to whom God first gave the command is not too much to ask.
Remember I asked you to look at your tax returns to see what percentage of your income you were giving? I encourage you to do these things as a place to start:
- Decide to give based on your GROSS and not your NET income
Regardless of what percentage of your income you are giving today, if it is less than the tithe, consider moving up some percentage NOW. If you are a 3%-er today, consider moving up to 4-5% if you cannot trust the promise of God fully today. Then at least annually, continue to increase your giving until you get to the minimum level of proportional giving that God asked of his first people
FBC Celina, TX 