Malachi 3:8-12

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.

For some people, tithing seems difficult. How can I give the first 10 percent of what I earn to God when money is tight and I have bills to pay? Yet on closer examination, we find that God makes it easy for us to obey this simple request. Everything we have actually belongs to God; we are merely stewards of what God has given us.

Ten percent is not much, really. A candidate running for office who receives only 10 percent of the vote will lose. If professional baseball players get a hit only one time out of ten, they probably won’t be on the team very long. What about business? If you had a partnership with someone and your partner got 90 percent of the profits while you got only 10 percent, that wouldn’t seem fair. But consider that God is the senior partner in our life, yet asks for only the first 10 percent.

God says “test me in this” so we can experience the love and blessing God wants for us.

Prayer: Teach us, O God, how to give lovingly to you a tithe of all you give to us. Amen.

St. Paul United Church of Christ 115 West B Street Belleville, IL 62220 Phone: (618) 233-3303 www.stpaulucc.org

United Church of Christ