"Honor The
Lord With Thy Substance"
Proverbs 3:9
To honor the Lord with
your substance is to use that which God has given you in his providence for the
glory of God. Particularly, it is to give a portion of your substance to God
again. The Lord does not tell us how much to give. Under the law a tithe of all
was required. But we are not under the law. Therefore, legal precepts have no
authority over us. And, certainly, those who know the grace of God in Christ
Jesus are not so niggardly as to think they honor God by allotting only a tithe
of their income for gifts! God's people are not miserly tithers, but generous,
cheerful givers. They give as much of their substance as prudence will allow,
in proportion as the Lord has prospered them. And they give in faith for they
give of "the firstfruits of all (their) increase." Week by week, they
allot a portion of their income to be given for the honor of God first. Some
can give much more than others, because their needs are less and their income
more. But all who honor God in their hearts, honor God
in their substance.
And though we never
give for the purpose of gaining more (God's saints are not mercenaries!), none
who honor God with their substance will ever be impoverished by doing so.
Solomon says, "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses
shall burst out with new wine" (v. 10). And he who is greater than Solomon
said, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down,
and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with
the same measure that ye mete withal shall it be measured to you again"
(Luke
Don Fortner