Malachi 4: 8 Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, "How are we robbing you?" In your tithes and offerings! 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the full tithe 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.
Saturdays were days of sacrifice when I turned 9. Sacrifice in that up to that point, these were days of Bugs Bunny, RoadRunner, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam. My anthem was Bug's show's theme and for years I thought he and the cast were singing, "On with the show, Mrs. Pip!" (Hey, I was learning English!-Didn't know "this... is it!"). At the age of 9 I got hired to work, like my dad did at almost the same age, in the same little grocery store in Kingsville, TX, Chapa's Grocery on Richard Street, in those days the Chicano downtown. I had to sacrifice watching cartoons to start making my own money. Years later "Gilbert Grape" worked in the same store, tho' on the screen and had the same feelings I hate toward HEB, my "Foodland." I worked from 8 until 6, boxing groceries (plastic bags had not yet been invented, thank God! and paper sacks were too expensive, boxes came with deliveries of the food items for the store), cutting meat, pouring saw dust on the floor towards closing, then sweeping it up. That was my favorite in that I knew it was close to closing time and I loved the smell of saw dust. It was incredible what the saw dust did to those wooden floors. I'll never forget that first night my Mom picked me up and she handed me a church offering envelope. She said, "15-cents belongs to God. This is called the tithe." (El diezmo). No problem, in fact, I was happy to give! Years later I had to preach and teach peope, whose Moms didn't teach them to tithe, that this is sacrificial giving.
What did you learn about giving to God? More importantly, what are you teaching others about it? I learned that my job had come from God as did the money I received for doing it. I learned to work hard, but to give thankfully. I also have tried to teach that to those who have been in my flocks.
PRAYER: All things come from you, O God, and because of that I should joyfully and thankfully, return to You what is Yours. Help me to live that. In Jesus Christ's precious and powerful name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
