“I dare you!” No other words caused courage and insanity to well up simultaneously in a child’s heart then those three words! Somehow the dare usually had something to do with an activity that was forbidden or terrifying. Refusing to accept the dare probably meant ridicule and being called names. Did you ever hear the challenge and answer its beckoning call? Maybe as you got older the call to the ‘dare’ got to be even more challenging and dangerous. The risks grew and the price for failure was enough to make you shudder, however, the thought of backing away was unbearable!
Or maybe you were the kind of young person who always played it safe. You knew what you could and could not do and nothing would make you step outside of that box. As a matter of fact, fear of failure kept you from venturing out into the unknown and unproven almost exclusively.
How would you feel if someone really big and powerful stood over you today and said, “I dare you!” Would you be intimidated? Would you rise to the challenge? If it were a question not of disobedience but rather of trust, would you be willing to accept the dare? Well, believe it or not, today GOD, the creator of the universe, is daring you! Are you up for it? Check out Malachi 3:10. “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.” Tithing! God’s ultimate dare!
It goes totally contrary to human reasoning for a man to take the first 10% of what he has earned from his own sweat and labor and offer it back to God before even thinking of paying his bills and feeding his family! But this is exactly what God was asking of the Israelites and what he expects of us today. Basically, it boils down to trust. God is asking you, “Do you trust me enough to supply all your needs today and tomorrow to give me your tithe regardless of the circumstances of your pocketbook? Will you make Me top priority in your life and allow Me to provide for you?” But, God takes it even one step further. Not only is it an act of faith and obedience for us to offer the first fruits of our labor to the Lord, but God says that to NOT tithe is actually robbery! When you keep the tithe for yourself and use it to pay off those pesky bills that pile up, what you are actually doing is stealing from God what rightfully belongs to Him. Now, I don’t know about you, but if I wanted to steal from anybody, I would NOT be choosing GOD as my ‘stealee’!
But, God doesn’t leave us with this big threat hanging over our heads. He says that if you DO accept the challenge, you won’t believe what He will do for you in return! “If you take me up on my dare, you’ll see how I will pour out so much blessing on your life that you won’t even be able to hold it all!” Wow! What a dare! Yes, there’s a risk involved. Paying bills and having well balanced meals for the family are very important! Does God really expect me to tithe FIRST?? Absolutely! It’s a question of trust. Do you trust God enough to believe that, as you honor Him first, He will provide for your every need? He will! That’s not to say that you will always have a super abundance of cash in your pockets. But, God dares you today, “Test me in this!” He will provide! Do you trust Him? Are you up for it?
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Great article. I'm still an infant in my Christian walk and while trying to make ends meet, I struggle with the faith that God will provide. I'm glad you dared me, it's something I needed to here. Great job!
