Honoring the Lord with our Wealth

Proverbs 3:9-10

Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barn will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

Is this passage a program for how to gain more wealth? After all, it seems to indicate that if we give, we will get more (livestock and crops for the barn and wine for the vats).

Before we race out to tell donors that this giving formula is the answer to our scarcity, let’s go back and examine what is really in view here. There are two points that need to be made:

1. The purpose and receiver of our giving – the goal of giving is to honor the Lord. We are to give in recognition of and gratitude to the Giver of all good things.

God Himself has given all that we have. Of course, it all still belongs to Him; we are merely (but importantly) temporary custodians of good gifts. These gifts fall into 3 categories, time, talent and treasure, and we are obligated to use them for His glory.

2. The quality of these gifts – firstfruits indicates the highest quality (as in the first pressing of the olives).

When we, as fund raisers, interact with donors we are (generally) asking them for cash gifts.

However, their best gifts may not be in that particular currency (at that particular time). Maybe, we need to look more broadly and look at the firstfruits in other areas, such as a particular skill that can be useful for the work at the school.
How about each of us? We did not enter into this field because of the financial rewards; we did it because we believe the Lord called us to to help raise up resources through the ministry of stewardship.

You and I may have the “wealth” of encouragement, organization, writing, or serving in other ways. Are we using those as our own firstfruits for the Kingdom.

Let us pray that we are giving our very best as we ask others to do the same.