In Proverbs 3:9-10 we find this command: “Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.”
We are to honor the Lord with all that we have. How we behave with our finances does a lot to reveal our heart toward God. Jesus said, “…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. ~ Matthew 6:21
How do we accomplish this? We are instructed in verse 5 to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart and do not lean on [our] own understanding”. Trusting God is the first step in honoring Him – this is true in salvation, finances and all other affairs of life. According to Romans 4:3 (quoting Genesis 15:6), this is what pleased God about Abraham.
In our finances, we are expected to give our BEST and FIRST to God! God commanded the nation of Israel saying, “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God” (Exodus 23:19a) and when detailing the offerings that went toward supporting the priests He says, “You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep” (Deuteronomy 18:4).
We are also expected to be generous and ready to share. Proverbs 11:24-29 tells us:
“There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. He who withholds grain, the people will curse him, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who seek evil, evil will come to him. He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, and the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.”
Also in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, we find this instruction:
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.
It is amazing to see this principle played out over and over again in our lives. If you are generous even when you have little, God seems to bless your finances to be able to do more than most who have more money than you. We constantly hear and read about people who recovered from massive amounts of debt while staying faithful (and in many cases increasing) to giving. In fact, most respected financial advisers (many of whom do not believe God’s word) will tell their clients that giving has to be an integral part of their lives in order to be successful financially.
We are also expected to be fair in our dealings with others. In verses Proverbs 3:27-28 we find the following instruction, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,’ when you have it with you.”
So in doing all of these things we will begin to “honor the Lord with our wealth”; which, according to verse 10, will lead to God sustaining us, causing us to be prosperous (cf Luke 6:38, Matthew 6:33) and satisfied (Philippians 4:11-13)!
For more on developing a biblical view of wealth, see our previous article here: http://knsfinancial.com/2010/01/10/wealth-from-the-bible/
Don’t forget to leave any comments or questions below.
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Powerful article! We can give in many ways like our time for one. Trusting in God and showing Him that we have faith in Him is a constant daily practice. It takes a lot of faith to get through our hardships, but for many they can’t see the positive that can come out of giving. They automatically think that they are going to need it in the future and don’t believe that God will be there for them. God does take care of His own, it’s one of His promises that we need to prove. Through proving His promises by faith, it builds up our strength to make through even harder times. Enjoyed the article, God Bless You
True Confessions! I have been neglectful of my tithing. I am not motivated or inspired by my current pastor and am too lazy to seek out a new church. Shame on me!
I have to change…. definitely.
It can be tough when you are in a position like that. Just be sure to seek God’s will through praying and studying His word. If you feel that your church is not a sound, healthy place for you as a Christian, then there are resources out there to help you find a good church.
Send me an email and I can send you to a couple of good websites to help!
This is another great article, thank you. I have experienced in my own life the love and provision of God. It is sad that we sometimes forget the wonderful things that God does and we allow ourselves to worry about worldly things and to loose faith.
Thank you for a great post.
Very true. Our focus can easily become skewed by the world around us. It is so important to meditate on the things of God in order to avoid that.
It is amazing, isn’t it? You hit upon one of the key principles in the Bible.
Too many Christians never see the bursting storehouses of God that He wants us to use to bless others. We seem to concentrate only on the talents He’s given us that our in our hands not realizing that this is not the sum total we have to work with. It’s just the amount He’s given us for the moment.
When we give out of this meager amount it builds our faith in God much like going to the gym to lift weights build our muscles. The sad thing is that it only takes a little faith to have big results, but few ever let go of what’s in their hands to unleash the power of God in their own lives and those around them.
Brad, you make excellent points! That’s the reason why I named this blog “Faithful With A Few” – we are too be faithful to God in the little that he’s given us now, so that He can trust me with more (in order to bless those in my sphere)! We could do so much more for God if we could all get a hold of that principle!
By the way, I didn’t know you had this site (mpchristianity.com), I only knew about “The Christian Entrepreneur”. Good work! I also joined your group on Blog Engage!
I launched it this month and migrated the applicable posts from The Christian Entrepreneur to this new site. The old site will go back to just being my personal blog again.
I saw that you joined the group on Blog Engage. Welcome. I wish there were more social capabilities in the groups there, but it’s a start.
@Jason @ Redeeming Riches
Thank you. I pray that we can continue to encourage each other to honor the Lord in all things! Be blessed!
.-= Khaleef Crumbley´s last blog ..KNS Financial Weekly Twitter Updates for 2010-04-18 =-.
Thank you for the kind words and encouragement!
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words.
Good post – thanks for the reminder that we need to be honoring to God who gave us all things!
.-= Jason @ Redeeming Riches´s last blog ..Tithing – How Much Should a Christian Give? Part 1 =-.
Thank you for your comment. The bible is such an amazing tool when it comes to managing our finances (as well as every other area of life). It's really a blessing to see other Christians submitting to God's word and seeking to honor Him in this way.
.., i am a born again Christian and this post is really an eye opener.. thank you so much… especially with the filed verses about finances…
Thank you. I pray that this article will encourage all Christians to honor God in the stewardship of their finances.
Thank you for this article. I found my heart truly encouraged to want to give God the best and first of what I have. May God bless you.
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