Proverbs 3:9-10–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

Posted by Seth on Sep 23, 2009 in Bible Study, Daily Devotions |

Proverbs 3:9-10–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Proverbs 3:9-10 through which we learn priorities with our finances that reflect the will and bring the blessing of the Lord.

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.

We’ve heard the statistics: the average church attender gives somewhere between 2-3% of their annual income. And we’ve heard perspectives on tithing, whether or not it’s a command for today, and if it should be considered merely the beginning of giving or an acceptable cap. Exploring those details is worth our time, but knowing also that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7), we’re reminded that the attitude and purpose behind giving must also be examined. The first words of our text require this of us: Honor the LORD. With our money, we have some options as to who we will honor. We can honor ourselves, rewarding our own hard work in some way, getting that extra stuff we’ve been wanting. We can honor others; people who are big gift-givers understand this one and we’re thankful for them! We could honor an organization that we believe in, etc. Or before considering any of these options (that certainly aren’t all bad when in their place), we could consider how we might honor the LORD. Even if we consider giving a priority, this might require a shift in our thinking. For if we are to honor Him with our wealth and firstfruits, it seems that as soon as we have access to new funds, we should look at the pile, so to speak, and immediately shrink it through removing a generous portion to be given specifically to the work of the Lord. What tends to happen, at least for me, is that I start dividing up the pile in my mind (tithe included) into the various places I want and need things to go. What happens then is that there is a giving-specific joy that is removed when my offering becomes simply “one of the bills” that must be taken care of.

And then what we are told happens next simply doesn’t seem to make sense. To be sure, God can be abundantly creative in filling our “barns and vats” and often is, but it might be that there is a very practical nature to “shrinking our pile” on payday. Our focus and position is automatically shifted from a self-appointed manager to a kingdom-minded steward. We know first of all that there is less to work with than before our giving, encouraging us toward carefulness and frugality. But having already primed our minds and hearts toward honoring the Lord, we will not do this as a miser, but with hands aimed at blessing in our distribution, even in just “paying the bills.” The practical aspect of this then is that we are so much less likely to spend our money frivolously, to shrink the pile almost unknowingly, caring little about where the small things or extras go. Again, this is not to say that God will not bring unexpected monetary blessing to fill us to overflowing, but it might just be that much of the filling up that happens is what we see take place over time during the faithful stewardship done, all aimed at honoring Him. Believe me, I feel the rub that comes as soon as we try to adopt this mindset. Just yesterday, our little girl had a routine doctor visit that turned out to be nearly $300 more than we thought we’d be paying when we stepped into the office–no emergency, just an extra test that needed to be run. The point is that we don’t live in a world where budgeting and stewardship is always neat and tidy. But the money is God’s nonetheless, and it is Him we are to honor with the firstfruits, that we might be properly set to honor Him with all the fruits following in whatever abundance He brings.

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