Proverbs 3:9-10

The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them about honoring God with His gifts to us:

Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV)

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.

God gives us wealth.  Riches are a gift of God.  As a result, Solomon tells us to use our wealth in a way that honors God.  We are to not just give of our wealth, we are to give of the "first" of our wealth.  There is no discussion of what we give to God.   He deserves our first, our best, our honor from the gifts He gives us.   If it were not for His gift we would have nothing.   When we hold onto "our" wealth and believe it is "ours" we lose out on the opportunity to "honor" Him.   When we dishonor God and hold onto our wealth for ourselves we lose out on the blessing we get to give back to God for His blessing to us.  Honor God will  your wealth.

 Having our barns overflowing and vats filled with New wine would be a great way to bring in the New Year. There is nothing like finishing the old year knowing the barn is almost empty and the vats are filled with old wine. But, the above proverb begins with the word, “Then.” This is a conditional proverb. Verse nine tells us that we must “honor the Lord” if we want to have the promises of verse ten. To honor something means to put it before something else. Honoring the Lord (and therefore enjoying the blessings above) means putting Him before other things in our life. What things? Perhaps the better question is what things should be put before Him? Nothing! Not family, not friends, not work, not church, not traditions. Honor Him and enjoy His blessings. Put Him first and He will fill your barns and vats.