Blog
God is not to be tested, except in this.
It wasn’t that long ago that I read the encounter between Jesus and Satan in Luke 4:9-12, when he is being tempted to prove his divinity. Jesus replies to Satan, “It has been stated: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” However, recently I may have done exactly this.
I had become incredibly indebted, and desperate to just make minimum payments on debt. Imagine this: 260k in student loan debt (for my sanity, let’s just ignore this for the rest of the discussion), 32k in credit card debts, 60k in debt consolidations, a 4k financed dog, and 3 vehicles recently financed in my name. I was beyond stupid. Although our combined household income was about 10k a month, we were living in a tiny 800 sq. ft. rental with 4 human beings, a dog, and a cat just trying to make ends meet. Although juggling credit card balance transfers and performing all sorts of financial gymnastics, I saw no way out of this hole.
Then I saw a book called “Financial Peace University” from Dave Ramsey at the church book store (no, I’m not sponsored by him). I knew a bit about him, so I purchased it. When I got home I cracked it open only to realize that it’s a workbook, useless without the course that it is attached to, and I got angry about the purchase. Feeling like a sucker, the book collected dust for a bit, while my desperation spiraled down towards rock-bottom.
Christmas starts rearing its head and I’m gasping for air late at night, waking up from the horrors of the financial distress for my family. I now had a $550 balance accrue on my water utility and it was about to get shut off, again. Desperate, I swiped the almost now maxed-out credit card to make the purchase and bought the course for the workbook. I started watching the first video, which was about a zero-based budget. There was a puzzling emphasis placed on where your “wiggle room” for finding money is, which is everywhere else but these categories: savings, “4-walls” (home), and giving (tithing). What?! I burst laughing when I saw what 10% of our take-home income looked like in donations to our church because it had a comma in it. I’m supposed to give THAT much when I can barely make payments on existing debt? I can only squeeze out giving my church $50 a week, that is, when the credit card I used for it wasn’t maxed out. However, I created the budget, stopped entirely using credit cards, and desperately began trying to work the budget.
I then remembered the passage, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” (Malachi 3:10). Although I remembered Jesus’ statement to the devil about not testing God, I put my trust in God and not my own understanding of the Word, and set the amount in my budget for exactly 10% of all income. As asked in the video, I forced myself to figure out elsewhere how to make the budget work without touching those three areas (emergency savings, 4-walls, giving). Seeing how dire things have gotten, I had to find a way to rebuild myself and get some sense of pride. Where the debt was a source of shame and guilt, I instead decided to become a cheerful giver. I wanted to find every penny that I could, and any time I received any money in our account, I gave the church immediately their 10%.
Little did I know how my life would be completely transformed by this. I immediately started finding money everywhere. I had some crypto that I had purchased a few years back, which had suffered severe losses. Sold! I found all sorts of subscriptions. Canceled! I discovered that my W2 was filled out with a miraculous $650 additional in withheld (thank you Lord!); I set that to $0. I received a raise (which hadn’t happened in many years), bonus pay for the first time ever, and I was given additional responsibilities that came with added pay.
We started December at about 10k in take-home pay, yet barely able to meet minimum payments on debt, and our water about to be shut off from us. So far, we have given $2,927.28 in tithing, paid off 4 debt accounts in full, and started Mustard Seedling to help others also share their stories and together glorify God. We’re only half-way through the month.
It turns out what God said in Malachi 3:10 is not exactly about testing Him, as He is not to be tested. It’s a reminder that His word is infallible, so go ahead and do it, willingly and joyfully, and see the consequence of it. As it is also written:
“Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written: ‘He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.’ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;” (2 Corinthians 9:7-10)
I had become incredibly indebted, and desperate to just make minimum payments on debt. Imagine this: 260k in student loan debt (for my sanity, let’s just ignore this for the rest of the discussion), 32k in credit card debts, 60k in debt consolidations, a 4k financed dog, and 3 vehicles recently financed in my name. I was beyond stupid. Although our combined household income was about 10k a month, we were living in a tiny 800 sq. ft. rental with 4 human beings, a dog, and a cat just trying to make ends meet. Although juggling credit card balance transfers and performing all sorts of financial gymnastics, I saw no way out of this hole.
Then I saw a book called “Financial Peace University” from Dave Ramsey at the church book store (no, I’m not sponsored by him). I knew a bit about him, so I purchased it. When I got home I cracked it open only to realize that it’s a workbook, useless without the course that it is attached to, and I got angry about the purchase. Feeling like a sucker, the book collected dust for a bit, while my desperation spiraled down towards rock-bottom.
Christmas starts rearing its head and I’m gasping for air late at night, waking up from the horrors of the financial distress for my family. I now had a $550 balance accrue on my water utility and it was about to get shut off, again. Desperate, I swiped the almost now maxed-out credit card to make the purchase and bought the course for the workbook. I started watching the first video, which was about a zero-based budget. There was a puzzling emphasis placed on where your “wiggle room” for finding money is, which is everywhere else but these categories: savings, “4-walls” (home), and giving (tithing). What?! I burst laughing when I saw what 10% of our take-home income looked like in donations to our church because it had a comma in it. I’m supposed to give THAT much when I can barely make payments on existing debt? I can only squeeze out giving my church $50 a week, that is, when the credit card I used for it wasn’t maxed out. However, I created the budget, stopped entirely using credit cards, and desperately began trying to work the budget.
I then remembered the passage, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” (Malachi 3:10). Although I remembered Jesus’ statement to the devil about not testing God, I put my trust in God and not my own understanding of the Word, and set the amount in my budget for exactly 10% of all income. As asked in the video, I forced myself to figure out elsewhere how to make the budget work without touching those three areas (emergency savings, 4-walls, giving). Seeing how dire things have gotten, I had to find a way to rebuild myself and get some sense of pride. Where the debt was a source of shame and guilt, I instead decided to become a cheerful giver. I wanted to find every penny that I could, and any time I received any money in our account, I gave the church immediately their 10%.
Little did I know how my life would be completely transformed by this. I immediately started finding money everywhere. I had some crypto that I had purchased a few years back, which had suffered severe losses. Sold! I found all sorts of subscriptions. Canceled! I discovered that my W2 was filled out with a miraculous $650 additional in withheld (thank you Lord!); I set that to $0. I received a raise (which hadn’t happened in many years), bonus pay for the first time ever, and I was given additional responsibilities that came with added pay.
We started December at about 10k in take-home pay, yet barely able to meet minimum payments on debt, and our water about to be shut off from us. So far, we have given $2,927.28 in tithing, paid off 4 debt accounts in full, and started Mustard Seedling to help others also share their stories and together glorify God. We’re only half-way through the month.
It turns out what God said in Malachi 3:10 is not exactly about testing Him, as He is not to be tested. It’s a reminder that His word is infallible, so go ahead and do it, willingly and joyfully, and see the consequence of it. As it is also written:
“Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written: ‘He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.’ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;” (2 Corinthians 9:7-10)
