Proverbs 3 Devotional
*Please see Disclaimer at the bottom of this page.
As Christians, faith is central to who we are and what we do. Specifically, faith in God and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ are what drive our mission and values at Faith Driven Consumer™ (FDC). While we aren’t a substitute for discipleship or spiritual formation in your local church and ministry communities, we, nevertheless, hope that we can encourage you in God’s word and provide you with scriptures to explore, helping us grow together. We aren’t biblical scholars, and we aren’t here to preach to anyone. We intend this devotional to be the first of many to encourage you and communicate the truth of God’s Word and love. We certainly need more of it in our culture today.
In light of this, we want to share and focus on the passage below from the book of Proverbs, in the Old Testament. Chapter 3, verses 9 and 10:
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. (ESV)
You may have read this passage before or heard it referenced in sermons on why people should tithe – donate some portion, usually 10%, of income – to the church or other religious organizations*. However, this passage goes beyond that, revealing something not just regarding what we should do with our money, but also how we should view and understand the resources, monetary and otherwise, with which God has provided us. It shouldn’t be written off as “the tithe passage,” nor should we dismiss it as another inconvenient reminder, or worse yet, a plea to anyone’s guilt, that we should be giving part of our paychecks away.
Instead, we should allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the truth of what is being communicated through God’s eternal and true Word, and not condense it to a “rule” we should be following but will probably put off until “I’m in a better financial place to do so.”
In this passage, the command to give back to the Lord is wrapped in language of honoring the Lord. To show honor is to show respect, reverence and ultimately love for someone. As such, when we give, we do so because we love God and want to express that in tangible ways, such as, giving of our resources and wealth, however little or much that may be. We do so, not because God needs it. In fact, Scripture tells us it is all His anyway. Instead, we are blessed with what we have, because God is a good and loving Father who blesses His children in countless ways.
That said, just as blessings from God are evidence and expressions of His great love for us, so too are the gifts we give back to God. If we truly, even if not fully, while here on earth, understand that magnitude of God’s love and blessings for us, how could we not joyfully have the kind of attitude that Proverbs 3 urges us to have? How could we not, upon receiving the “firstfruits of the produce,” joyfully and willingly give them to God to honor Him and help further His kingdom here on earth? And sure, you might not be a farmer or own a winery, but the example holds true today, as it never was about the “rule” you should be following, or the percentage of your income you give away. It’s always been about understanding the blessings of our gracious Father, and then responding with overwhelming thankfulness, honoring Him in return with all that we are and all that we have.
The Scriptures tell us that if you do this, God will bless you. BUT, before we start thinking we can treat God like a cosmic vending machine, where we put a few coins in and get a sweet prize in return, we must remember the specific command at the beginning of the verse: “Honor the LORD.” God will surely bless us, but only when we love Him for who He is and how He loves us. We do this when we respond in gratitude and thankfulness with a willingness to give of ourselves, our time and our resources to whatever degree is required. THEN, God will bless us in these ways.
At FDC, we understand that as Christians, how we steward our finances and manage our spending is a way to appreciate God’s goodness to us in our lives. Our response to Him is an opportunity to show Him honor and further His kingdom. Saving, spending and investing are all opportunities to honor the Lord with what we have. We are so excited to be even just a small part of helping you do this. We look forward to applying these Scriptures within our lives and alongside yours in order to grow, making our lives and communities #faithdriven.
