“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV).
The Hebrew verb “honor” (kabad) may also be translated “give glory to” or “to give weight to.” This first involves recognizing that the Lord is worthy of honor because He is both Owner and Giver of all things. Second, it means we give the Lord the honor that He is due. So, we give our “firstfruits” (the first part of our income) to the Lord to show that we put Him first. We also manage all of our income and possessions with the understanding that God is Owner and we are His stewards.
In return, the Lord promises our barns will be filled with plenty and our vats will overflow with wine. In other words, we can’t out give our God. God blesses generosity.
However, our motivation is not to be “giving to get,” as if we are in some sort of reciprocal relationship with God. Our motivation is to honor God because He is worthy and because He has already blessed us. His promise of abundant blessing should free us to be generous towards God, recognizing that everything comes from Him and that it is He that meets our every need.
Many say that they honor God, but it is merely lip service. Do you give “honor” (priority, glory, weight) to the Lord? Do you honor Him with the first part of time, talent, and treasure?
PRAYER: Dear Father, we love and honor You above all. Help us to show this with the way we steward our time, talent and treasure for You. We are Yours. We have been blood bought by Jesus and our lives are not our own. Strengthen us and give us wisdom to always live worthy of our calling as Your children. In Jesus’ name, amen.