Blessing of Tithing

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. ..." 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."
-Malachi 3:10 (NIV)

As a teenager, I asked stepfather why our family tithed. He told me that God commanded our tithes and that as faithful Christians we should give God 10% of our income. I asked him, "How did the rest of the money stretch for the things you needed?" He answered, "We don't need to stretch our earnings because the Lord will multiply them." I'm grateful to my stepfather and mother for teaching their children to tithe. I'm thankful that my parents helped me understand that the Lord will multiply whatever we give and use it to enrich others' lives as well as our own.