Honoring God With What's His

Many, when giving anything to God, are resentful, even outraged. “I earned it, it’s mine - so I deserve all of it and can use it anyway I choose.” And the decision on what to do with it is our choice.

But, between the process of working and receiving the rewards from our efforts is God’s goodness. Think for a moment about thinking. It surely is a gift from God. And so are strength, energy, vision, reflexes, hearing, breath, balance and coordination. All this, and much, much more are God’s gifts to us.
Someone once said to me, “Larry, your ability to do anything is God’s gift to you. What you do with them is your gift back to God.”

Initially, I thought, “That’s rather cute and novel.” But, the more I thought about it, the more it troubled me. If that’s true, and for those of us who recognize God as the Lord of our lives know that it is, we are forced to admit that we’d have absolutely nothing without His grace.

Part of “wisdom” is knowing what to do with what God gives us. So, Solomon made no apologies when he wrote, “Honor the Lord with your wealth.” Seems simple if we run over the word “honor” and say, “Here’s a tip, God. I want You to know I’m honoring You.” However, it does not work that way.

“Honor” means making a sacrifice to the Lord. And, “wealth” refers to “having enough of the goods of life.” So, when viewed together, “honoring” God with the “goods” He has given us, means that our gifts represent a sacrifice.

Prayer:  Lord, what we give You reveals how important You are to us. May our gifts represent a sacrifice to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;