What does the word “honor” mean? According to the dictionary the word “honor” means to esteem, to respect, to admire, to look up to, to appreciate, to value, to cherish, to adore, to worship or to put someone on a pedestal.
Proverbs 3:9 – 10 says…
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.
So the instruction here is simple. Honor the Lord. Respect the Lord. Admire him. Look up to him. Appreciate him. Value him. Cherish him. Adore him. Worship him. Put him on a pedestal. Words are only words until we bring them to life with our actions.
So how do we bring this word “honor” to life? How do we honor the Lord? How do we respect, admire, appreciate, value, cherish, adore, worship and put God on a pedestal? The simple instruction in this passage is by giving the firstfruits of our wealth to him.
Practically this simply means that the first thing I am called to do with the money I earn or receive is to give a portion of it to the Lord. I am not called to pay my bills first or buy physical possessions first or hit up the fast food restaurant first. I am called to give generously to the Lord first.
When I do this I am redirecting the focus of my heart from myself to the Lord. It’s a discipline that trains me to honor the Lord by putting him first. And the promise of this passage is not that I will become healthy, wealthy and wise. The promise is that my life will be full of the provision of God.
So my encouragement to you today is to bring life to the words we’ve just heard by honoring the Lord as you give a portion of your wealth to him so that you may be filled with the provision of God.