"You want me to give WHAT?!?"

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the LORD of Hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing."

(Malachi 3:10)

From a young age, my parents taught me about stewardship, generosity and tithing. When I got my first jobs (mowing lawns, and later delivering newspapers), they reinforced the concept of giving back to God. Ten percent (10%) of whatever I made was offered back to God in Thanksgiving. It was a spiritual practice that I've continued even to this day.

Some time after Jody and I were married, she got a note from a friend of ours from high school. He was a doctor, and seriously dating a Christian girl from Texas. He himself was not Christian (I think his family was Buddhist), and he had just been informed that should they get married, her church would expect them to give 10% of his (doctor) salary regularly. He was shocked! And so he wanted to ask Jody "if this really was a thing?" As Jody and I had both grown up with tithing, we thought nothing of it. But to someone coming from outside the faith tradition, it was quite an "ask."

The prophet Malachi reminds the people of Israel that God is the one who provides everyone with resources. So being generous back to God is an important habit to foster - especially for people of faith. And God says, through Malachi, that blessings will follow if we're obedient in this spiritual discipline. Not that we should undertake it with an "investment mentality," (Like if you give $xx.xx, you're guaranteed a return of at least $yy.yy). But when we foster a generous heart, God will add blessings in our lives in other areas.

It's a big ask. But when we're able to trust God with our finances, we reach a new level of spiritual maturity.