There is a story told about a church that was struggling financially. The preacher asked one of the members to take on the responsibility of overseeing the congregation’s finances. The man, who was the manager of the local grain elevator, agreed, but only on two conditions: No report would be due for a year, and no one would ask any questions during the year. Since the man was known to be a person of outstanding character, the church agreed to his conditions.

At the end of the year the man made his financial report. He had paid off the church debt of $200,000. He had also redecorated the church, doubled the congregation’s giving to missions and tripled the amount of money the church had in the bank.

The shocked congregation asked, “How did you manage to accomplish all this?”

He answered, “You people bring your grain to my elevator. As you did business with me, I simply withheld 10 percent and gave it to the church. And you never missed it.”

“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 there will not be room enough to store it.’”—Malachi 3:10.