Wealth

Day 154.

9  Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
10  then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV)

Honoring God with your wealth is the first practical example given for the previous famous verse, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” This is part of remembering that we are to live for God’s Kingdom and not our own. This is also what it looks like to to trust the Lord. Giving our money to the Lord can be hard when you count on that money for specific things. It doesn’t make sense to give it away when you alone are provider. Giving it away is not only an expression of trust, but puts you in a position of dependence upon the Lord. It is exactly where you want to be, as a Christian – looking to the Lord for your daily bread. The irony is that this brings great blessings. The writer talks about this in terms of filling your barns and vats, the very things that you are giving to the Lord. The idea is that the generous giver to the Lord will never go hungry though he may not have everything he wants or expects. But he will gain much blessing from it as he finds out that the God in whom he trusts is really trustworthy. He learns this experientially and personally. And it is a lesson we continue to grow in.