9Honor the Lord with your substance
and with the first fruits of all your produce;
10then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
Proverbs 3
Read that passage above? Remember the message from Sunday?
Sometimes this is the way God’s Word works.
Sometimes it’s just neat to point out how our Year of the Bible reading plan crosses over with our Sunday series unintentionally…it’s almost like God knows what He’s doing. The right Word at the right time. If you weren’t here on Sunday (or haven’t been able to check it out online yet), the message was on God’s view of money – and more precisely – on how we should view money as God’s people. It’s one of those off limits topics for many of us and so we don’t like to talk about it that much. But it isn’t off limits for Jesus.
Jesus loves talking about money. Not because he wants yours, but because he wants you to be free from its power over you.
So this passage from today’s reading in Proverbs 3 pops us – and really – it is an extension of Sunday’s message. The Proverb’s point wasn’t really talked about in the message explicitly, but it could have been: when we’re generous with what God has given us (the first fruits of our produce), we find our barns are filled anyway. When we give first, we find that God gives us what we need.
Giving first is an act of faith, resting on God’s promise.
There’s no proof of it except as you experience it. But we’re afraid to, we’re worried about not having enough. What if something comes up? What if we can’t do what we want to do? What if what if? Jesus says don’t worry about, you’ll find that you are given plenty…you’ll be filled with plenty the Proverb says.
So try it today. Give first…just make sure your vat isn’t on a white carpet.