The Windows of Heaven

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10)

The prophet Malachi promised that through payment of tithes, "the windows of heaven" would be opened.

I have heard many inspiring stories of the literal fulfillment of this promise. It usually goes something like this: a family is short on money and has a choice to pay tithing or pay bills or buy groceries or some other essential need. They decide to pay tithing, trusting that the Lord will take care of them if they keep their commitment to Him first. They are rewarded with a miraculous blessing and somehow make ends meet through a new job, a promotion at work, a kind neighbor, the actions of a stranger, or some other means. They are always taken care of.

I accept these experiences at face value. I believe the Lord does take care of those who pay tithing. I have always tried to be a faithful tithe payer and have always felt very blessed by Him. In fact, I have always been so blessed that I've never felt like I've truly been tested by the law of tithing; I've never had to "prove" the Lord. I've never had a miraculous story about tithing to call my own.

Until now.

It wasn't me directly. It was my seven-year-old son, Andrew. A neighbor had given him a rare chance to earn some cash by picking dandelions, hoping to avoid them going to seed. Andrew earned one penny for each flower picked. I was so impressed with his industry and the great idea of battling the weeds that I gave him the same offer. After a few hours of work, Andrew had amassed the princely sum of about four dollars.

As I sat down with our change box to pay him, I talked to him about tithing. I helped him calculate ten percent of his earnings. We began filling out the donation slip to give to our bishop. Then I brought up the subject of offerings for the poor, and asked Andrew if he would like to give some additional money to help those who had less. He wanted to reallocate some of his tithing to be offerings. I explained that it didn't work that way; that the offerings were in addition to the tithing. Something changed in Andrew. His fist tightened around his coins. His brow furrowed and he grew more and more resistant to the idea. Soon he wasn't so sure he wanted to pay tithing at all. All my persuasion, lecturing, and other advanced parenting techniques only seemed to cause his fingers to grasp more tightly. The lucre was taking hold of him.

Finally, in exasperation, I put down the tithing slip and walked away, telling Andrew that if he didn't want to keep the commandment of tithing, I wasn't going to make him. It was his choice.

A short while later, Andrew came to my room with his money and told me he was ready to pay tithing. Relieved that he had made the right choice, I again sat down with him and filled out the slip: forty cents in change went into the envelope. He happily watched while I licked the seal and set it aside. Then Andrew left the room.

Now for the miracle: a few minutes later, Andrew suddenly reappeared. He had a serious, intense look in his seven-year-old eyes that I had seldom before seen. He came up to me, and gave me a dollar.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's for the poor people," he replied.

I looked into his innocent eyes. They were red and brimming with tears. "That is very nice, Andrew. But you don't have to give that much," I reasoned with him. After all, I don't think I had ever donated an extra 25% of my gross income to the poor, on top of the 10% tithing. His gift, like the widow's mite, was truly generous.

"I want to, Dad," he said resolutely. "I want to help the people that don't have enough to eat. I want to give them my money." He spoke with as much passion as a seven-year-old boy can feel.

And I suddenly understood. I understood that the windows of heaven are not just open to pour out financial blessings upon those who pay the tithe. In fact, temporal blessings are wonderful, but they pale in comparison to the divinity that pours into the souls of those who put God and the needs of their fellow men above their own desires. My son, in paying his tithes and offerings, was making an invaluable investment in his character; he was opening up a window of heaven that shone directly into his pure, little-boy heart.

Truly, the Lord does fulfill his promises.