An Appointment with Christ: Proverbs 3 (Part 6)

Our latest meditations have been drawn from a very profound chapter of the word of the Lord found in the Book of Proverbs—specifically, Chapter 3. The Book of Proverbs was written in large part by wise Solomon, one of the wisest men who have ever lived in all of history.

The Bible says that God gave Solomon wisdom like that of no man before or after him. The writers who contributed their teachings to the Book of Proverbs were men enlightened and inspired by the Holy Spirit, and therefore their counsel has that depth characteristic of the wisdom of God. Throughout these latest meditations, we have seen how the Bible calls us to treasure it, to place it above everything else, and to make it the very foundation of our lives. And we have seen how God promises that the person who builds his life upon the principles of the word of God is entitled to expect a happy life before God and before men. The Bible calls us to have an attitude of dependence upon God, not to trust in ourselves or in our own intelligence, but to trust in the Lord with all our heart; not to be wise in our own opinion—that is, not to consider ourselves wise, but to view ourselves humbly, knowing that our wisdom depends instead upon the wisdom of God.

There is so much wonderful counsel in this Book of Proverbs, and specifically in Chapter 3. On this occasion, I have been meditating on verses 9 and 10 of Proverbs Chapter 3, and I want to share them with my listeners. It says there in Proverbs 3:9–10: “Honor Jehovah with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your produce, and your barns will be filled with abundance, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

It is a passage that, unless one understands the historical context in which the Bible was written, we may perhaps not understand completely; and in fact, a passage like this teaches us the importance of knowing something about the history of the Bible in order to understand all its teachings. This is something that takes time, but anyone who studies a little and gradually accumulates knowledge about the Bible can easily draw out the counsel and teachings contained in it.

For example, this passage says, “Honor Jehovah with your possessions...” That is quite simple. What it is saying there is that we must please God, honor Him, revere Him, and show Him respect. How? With our possessions—that is, with our belongings, our money, and the material and financial resources we have. Many people believe that honoring God is simply a matter of saying with their mouths, “God, I honor You, I respect You, You are great, You are powerful.” But truly, if we want to honor God, we have to put, as they say, our mouth where our pocket is. It is not possible to love God in a merely theoretical and abstract way. If we love God, we must honor Him with our possessions. Now, obviously, God is the owner of the entire universe. He was the one who created all the gold and all the silver, as the Bible says: “...the gold is Mine, and the silver is Mine.” God is the owner of every atom that makes up the universe. He does not need our money; in fact, there is nothing we could do to improve, even infinitesimally, the well-being God enjoys. Nevertheless, the Bible says, “Honor Jehovah with your possessions.”

How are we going to honor God with our possessions? Well, the Bible speaks of our supporting the work of God here on earth. When, for example, we share our money with the church that does God’s work on earth, we are honoring God. Every church has needs: electricity expenses, the pastor’s salary or the priest’s support, the maintenance of the house of God, and the programs, ministries, and missions that the church supports. All these things require money, and in the Bible we see that God told the Hebrew people always to give 10% of their income and to set it apart for the affairs, needs, and expenses associated with the temple. And every Hebrew, every devout Jew, had to bring that 10% of his income to God at the temple—it is called the tithe—so that the temple could carry out its various tasks and meet its various needs, and so that those who served the Lord in the temple could meet their personal needs.

God devised this so that in this way men would honor Him, and when the Hebrews gave the tithe from their possessions to the temple, they were obeying God and therefore honoring the Lord. It is an indirect way of acknowledging that God is the owner of everything we have. Some people will say, “Oh, but 10% of my income is too much.” Remember that everything you have comes from God. God is the one who gives you the strength to work; He gives you health, intelligence, and the means. And not only that, but God promises that when we give Him a portion of our possessions, He will bless us with far more than we give. Many Christians, including the person speaking to you, can testify in a completely convincing way, fully persuaded that when we give generously to the Lord, God never tires of blessing us and restoring to us everything we give Him.

The Bible says: He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, but he who sows generously will reap generously. When you give to the Lord with a generous heart, when you honor Him with your possessions, you then receive the benefit of God’s blessing upon your life. God prospers you, God blesses you, God sustains your finances, and God closes the door through which so much money escapes—often through illnesses, divorces, losses, and so many ways in which we waste money. When we honor God, He blesses our possessions and blesses our financial resources. One can do much more with 90% of one’s money after giving that 10% to God than when one keeps 100% and does not have God’s blessing upon one’s money.

God must be honored. It is a way for us to honor the Lord, and God asks for our money not because He needs it, but as a symbolic act, because if you give from what you love, from what is important to you, then you are truly showing love. There is no such thing as loving a person and not showing that love in concrete and personal ways. That is why I believe God has allowed us to give to Him. It is not that we give directly to Him; we give to the things He loves, and in that way we honor Him. We can also honor God with our possessions by helping others. There are many needy people around us, and a contribution, a love offering, can help someone out of a difficult situation. If you look around you, you will always find ways to be an agent of God’s mercy and to honor God with your possessions. When you give, give in the name of the Lord. You may have relatives whom you could help out of a difficult situation with some money; there are destitute people on the street whom you can bless with some money; there are social causes you can help in the name of the Lord by contributing to the work of God. Be generous with your possessions. Honor Jehovah with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your produce—that is, with the first of what you earn, with the choicest portion. Give God the best of your life, the firstfruits, what is most important. It says: “...and your barns will be filled with abundance.” Here it is referring to people who lived in an agricultural society. As for the barns, it says that grain will never be lacking in your barn. That means that, in modern terms, provision will never be lacking in your home. Food will never be lacking; health will never be lacking. Blessing will never be lacking in your home. Abundance will never be lacking. Because when you give to God generously, God never tires of blessing you and giving to you out of His great love. I hope that you will be generous toward God and that you will always honor Him with your possessions. May God bless you.