Splitting Hairs

“Will a man rob God? 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, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. 
Malachi 3:8-12

In the Sept. 23, 2012 issue of the The Christian Post the front page article on the topic of giving stated that Christians are now giving less than ever : 2:43 %. The article further states that if it were 10% there would  be at least another $172B !
Here's the thing : according to this scripture, one of the reasons this nation is deluged with droughts, wild fires, one disaster after another, is directly related to  so many Christians have a wrong understanding of giving! Most people think the resources they have been entrusted with actually belong to them, which they don't- we are but stewards, and our hearts control the pursestrings and tell the whole story. I hate to be so blunt here but those who tithe little to none- throwing crumbs at the God of the Universe- shows where your heart is- you simply are not trusting God. The secret is that when we let go and trust Him for all things, becoming  extravagant givers from our hearts-giving out of need and not abundance, not necessarily to a church, but perhaps directly to someone they know is in need, without the benefit of a tax deduction or other personal benefits-that our alms are seen by the One who examines our hearts, and He will not be out givens, ever. Consider the boy whose few loaves and fish fed 5000 when handed over to the Messiah... The widow who Jesus observed putting all she had into the offering...the widow who heeded Elijah's request to use  what she had to feed him first, and then the promise of abundance, even when there was no natural remedy.
How do you treat the resources that God has entrusted to you, beloved?