Why should we give of our resources to God? The Bible tells us to. In Malachi 3:10, God says, “Bring the full tithe (first 10% of your income) 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.” God is very generous. Be Christ-like and be generous, too. After all, everything you have is God’s, so you are just returning a portion back to God. You get to use up to 90% of your resources, God just asks for 10%. Give of your resources; you will be amazed at God’s goodness and mercy.

When you give, God blesses. God may bless your mailbox with a check for something you didn’t expect, God may bless your calendar with time off, God may bless you with a meal at a friend’s house, or God may bless you by decreasing your desire for something you wanted. When we give to God, he will pour down an overflowing blessing on you. God encourages us to try it. So, like the old commercial says, “Try it; you’ll like it!”

Here’s how to start giving back to God.

1. Pray about it. Ask God for wisdom, courage and guidance in this area.

2. Read the Bible. It says a lot about giving, money and basic financial planning. No literature found.

3. Make a plan. Find out where your money is going right now and where you would like it to go instead. Identify some easy, relatively painless ways to free up some cash: bring a bag lunch and beverage from home, rent movies from the library for free, buy snacks in bulk not from the vending machine. Start saving for emergencies or replacement costs.

4. Just do it. God says to try it and see what happens.
a. Give a tithe for one week or increase your giving by 10%. Start by giving something.
b. If the idea of giving 10% is too much for you right now, make a plan to increase what you are giving each year by 2%.
c. Save 10% of your income for the future. Invest in your company retirement plan. Start by saving something.

5. Realize that a little more money won’t solve all your problems. Try to get by on less and be content with what you have. People say money talks, but all it says is “bye, bye”. With God’s help, proper planning and plenty of prayer, you will be on your way to experiencing an overflowing blessing from God.