Proverbs 3:9-10-NLT
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain and your vats will overflow with good wine.
God does not need our wealth! He owns everything that we have. I see this passage as a test of trust and surrender with a promise that the reward of trusting God with everything is that we will have abundant blessings. As you read this passage, do not make the mistake of equating God's overflowing blessings with the definition of this earth blessing. Think of where you were in life before Christ rescued you. Or think about what your life could have been like if Christ did not rescue you and gave you a new purpose. Romans 5:6-8 reads, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” You might say, can that passage also relate to earthly wealth? The answer is yes, absolutely! However, we live in a religious era that often deceives many people with the gospel of prosperity, which is a major misconception about God's blessings. We often treat God as we view our worldly invented idol, Santa Claus. If God's blessings were based on us being naughty or good, we would never receive any blessings because there is nothing good about us. The only one who is good is God! Jesus himself understood this fact during his ministry (Mark 10 17-18 & Mathew 19:17). Did you wake up this morning in your right mind, able to walk, breathe on your own, able to use your hands, feet, have a place to stay, etc.? Make a list of your blessings and see what you perceive as part of your routine, there is someone wishing they had a fraction of the gifts you take for granted. Jesus encouraged his disciples to not focus on storing things of this world as possessions but instead to store things that are heavenly bound (Mathew 6:19-21). As you give back a portion of your wealth, whatever wealth might be for you (time, money, talents...etc.) remember your barns are overflowing beyond the expectation of this earthly dwelling! A place ".... where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."
