What promises does G-d make about your finances?

One area of authority that many believers have trouble with is finances. G-d must have known this because he wrote more about money in the Bible than any other subject. The modern thinking goes something like this; G-d knows I can’t afford to give a tithe (tenth of your income). As soon as He blesses me with extra, I will be more than happy to give. Now that sounds reasonable doesn’t it? Is this not an example of our using human reasoning instead of obeying G-d? 

Tithing and obedience are two subjects we started hearing about shortly after we started regularly attending a congregation. To me this was just another dues thing.  In order to come to the synagogue to worship G-d and pray, we had to pay. I didn’t like it and I resented it.

When my wife Jackie and I first became believers it seemed like everything material was being stripped away.  Satan was definitely after us! We struggled regularly with our finances and job security was a joke. We were raising 4 children and the trials were coming at us daily. It got so bad that we were literally selling our possessions on the street corner of our rented home, just so we could eat. Still we kept hearing about tithing. For a few years we gave $18.00 a week because in Hebrew the number 18 represents life (Chai). We heard the following Scripture a lot:

Malachi 3:8-10 ”Will a man rob G-d?  Yet you rob me .   But you ask, ‘how do we rob You?’ “In tithes and offerings .   You are under a curse-the whole nation of you, because you are robbing Me . Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house .   Test Me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it . I will prevent pests from devouring your crops . . . ”

That is a mighty powerful verse, test Me the Lord says!!  So we decided after nothing else seemed to be working to commit ourselves and tithe Jackie’s whole salary . (Jackie was a teacher at the time) At that time this was way more than 10% of our total income but we figured we owed G-d from the past .

One Friday as I walked u p t he stairs from our basement I looked at the bare cupboard and for the first time I really got scared. So that night on our way to services, I told Jackie we didn’t have any money, nor did our crime prevention business have any money coming in and we needed her check to buy groceries for the week.   We argued but Jackie insisted that we had to tithe her check.  That was all of our money!  She said that this was a test to see if we would be obedient when our faith was being tested. I reluctantly gave in as we got close to the congregation.  

As soon as we entered the synagogue, Jackie got handed an envelope, it was a Hanukkah check from the office. (They gave all the teachers a check). Then before we entered the sanctuary, she got handed another envelope which was another Hanukkah present from the parents at her students. Yet still more money owed to her for doing some baby sitting was given.  When we added up the money we could hardly believe it.  It totaled almost exactly what her weekly check was.  I considered this a sign from G-d.  

The trials were still coming, actually they haven’t stopped and as long as we are actively pushing forward the kingdom of G-d I don’t think they ever will, But that episode convinced me to tithe properly and consistently. Now some of you might be expecting me to tell you about a great job breakthrough or some great uncle who died and left us his fortune.  But no such luck!

Within a few days of this incident I was standing in the shower just trying to wake up. Suddenly the Lord spoke one word deep into my spirit... STOP!!! I didn’t have to figure out what I was supposed to stop.  I was to stop making everything happen, pushing and striving so hard, doing everything in my own strength.  Boy did that go against my grain.  I know now that it was my pride and fear of really letting go that made this so hard for me. How could I slow down when we were barely making it?  But the Lord didn’t say to slow down, he said STOP!  

Later that same day, into our office comes this woman who wants to work for us .   I tell her we can’t pay her, but she still wants to work with us and says we are doing a good thing . She says she will work for free because we need some things .   Within minutes she creates a top notch logo for us, and over the next few weeks she precedes to get our company featured onto prime time ABC -TV, CNN, and the Home Shopping Club .   Then she makes a contact with the Mayors office in Philadelphia and not long after, the Mayor contracts us to teach all the city employees over a two year period .   Well this certainly changed our financial picture and put our business on the map .

But the blessings that came forth after we started tithing properly and I got out of G-d’s way came in many forms .   For instance, I was going into center city 2-3 times per week to do my crime prevention seminars . Parking in Philadelphia is outrageous, like $17.00-$20.00 for four hours.

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