Pay what is due, and be indebted to no man

In what manner are we able to test God? In Deuteronomy 6:16 and Mathew 4:7 it states that we should not put Him to the test or tempt Him. But, there is one passage where God actually puts Himself into a box and calls us to test Him. 

Malachi 3:8-11

⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

⁹ Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

¹² And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

This is the only passage in scripture where God actually calls us to test Him. And if we follow through and give Him the whole tithe He promises not only to pour out blessings beyond what we can contain, but He will also rebuke the devourer for our sake. We know who the devourer is and his purpose, we find it in John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." What is the tithe? it is 10% of the first fruits or the gross. What I came to realize was that God blessed me with everything I have and gain, so I should be obedient  and a good steward with it, by doing this God is able to protect, bless, and provide increase on the other 90%.

 I can tell you from my own experience and the experience of others, when I started tithing the full amount, and began at times helping others it was amazing what began happening in my finances. I mean literally, my wife and I would help someone out financially and we would get a totally unexpected check in the mail from a random person saying "Hey I just wanted to help you" or somehow an overpayment had been discovered and this is the return check, far beyond what we sowed.  At the end of the month we would sometimes say, "How do we have this much left"?  My wife and I also began following the Dave Ramsey program to get out of debt and start saving for our future. We paid off over 70,000 in  2 1/2 years making between 70 and 80,000 together. If you have not looked into it, I would highly suggest going to www.daveramsey.com and look at the baby steps. The program will change your life and the way you look at finances.

Why does God want us to have life and have it abundantly? Because if we are not bound by debt (Romans 13:), and are good stewards, we can bless others, we can do great things for the King. We can support missionaries, or if God calls us to go into a mission field we will be able to go ourselves, we can help someone in need, help them get a repair on their vehicle, buy groceries, whatever they are struggling with. The whole system does require money. All of this is not about the love of money, it is about the love of my King, being obedient to His word. It is part of the calling. I challenge you to take the time, dwell on all this, and see what the Lord has for you.