In the Old Testament, the Lord told the prophet Malachi:
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 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." (see Malachi 3:8-10).
We must "bring [our] tithes into the storehouse..." Tithing has been a principle since the Old Testament. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are asked by God to pay 10% of our income to the church to build up the kingdom of God. No one in our church gets paid for their services in the church. It is all voluntary. Not even the prophet himself sees a dime. It all goes to the building of temples, church buildings, missionary work and much more.
Some people think it is a big sacrifice to give the church 10% of their money. But think of it this way...isn't everything we own God's anyway? Everything we "own" has been given to us as a blessing from God. Everything is His. How merciful then, is it to only ask for 10% back after He gave us everything? The blessing outweighs the sacrifice. The Lord promises us that He will pour out blessings upon us and He will "open the windows of heaven." It will rain down blessings upon us like a summer storm in the South. That's a promise from the Lord Himself.
I am a living witness of this promise. I was in college, attending Dixie State College in St. George, UT. It was my first semester of college and I realized that it was in my best interest to transfer to BYU-Idaho that next semester. In order to do that, I had to pay fees and also sell my housing contract for the apartment I was currently living in. So I had to sell my contract or I would be on the hook for $1000 for an apartment I wasn't even living in. I had less than $500 to my name. Then, to make matters worse, as I was searching for a place to stay in Rexburg, ID, where BYU-Idaho is, I erroneously signed up for a contract there too. I didn't mean to sign up for that one. So I was told I had to sell that one as well. So now I was left with 2 housing contracts for places I wasn't going to live, the total on my head was about $2000 if I didn't sell them. I needed a miracle. I called the person who I knew wouldn't think I was a complete idiot, and who could help me...my mom. She talked to me and asked me if I had paid my tithing recently. I admitted that it had been months since I had done so. It was long overdue. However, I pleaded my case with my mom, saying if I paid the tithing I owed, I would be left with far less money than I needed to pay off these contracts if I didn't sell them. I would be over $1500 short. She encouraged me to pay it anyway and try the Lord on His promise. So I did. I paid my tithing to the bishop in St. George. I felt better about my decision but the possibility of needing to pay $2000 loomed ominously in the distance. I had been trying to sell those contracts for a month. After I paid my tithing, not a week later, I received phone calls from people wanting my contracts for both places! I sold both of my contracts in less than a week! I didn't have to pay for them myself. I left there debt-free with the universities and also debt-free with God. I know I was blessed because I paid my tithing.
God encourages us to try Him in this promise. I did, and I was blessed. Let us all pay our tithing honestly. God doesn't need our money. This is an issue of faith. Let us show our faith in Him and see if he won't "open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
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