"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10)
Many people don't tithe because they think that they don't have enough money. Yet, many of these same people are able to afford Iphones, Ipads, Xbox 360s, and still have enough left over to drive a Mercedes. My friend Richard once told me that people always have money for the things that they want to buy and do, and that is correct. I dare anyone who thinks that they can't tithe to show their pastor their latest blu-ray player (or their shoe collection, if they are ladies) and then claim that they can't even scrounge together two pennies to put in the offering plate. At any rate, people who short-change God only hurt themselves in the long run. Instead of using their money to make a difference in their communities and in the world, they wind up with a bunch of e-books which they don't read, a bunch of clothes which they don't wear, and a DVD set which they don't watch. To paraphrase Tyler Durden from "Fight Club", they waste their lives at jobs which they hate to buy crap that they don't need. Now obviously, becoming an underground anarchist is not the answer. However, radical, positive change is needed. That's why I always tithe ten-percent. Not when I feel like it. Not to impress my pastor with my righteousness or the cute college girl with my "bling." I do it to honor God, and God has blessed me back. It's not always immediate, and it's not always a monetary blessing. That being said, sometimes it is. I got a sweet freelance gig over the weekend which I am very thankful for, and know that God arranged it as part of the blessings downpour. He may not bless you in the exact same way if you tithe, but He will open the doors of heaven for you in one area of your life or another, for God keeps His promises.
