Honoring God With Wealth

You're listening to Life Path, biblical instruction with practical application. I'm Brandon Ware and I want to welcome you to my podcast.

Today is Wednesday, January the 13th, 2021. Proverbs chapter 3, verses 9 and 10 says, Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce. Then your vats will be filled with plenty.

Your vats will be bursting forth with new wine. You know, all that a man has in his possession, or a woman for that matter, all that we have has been entrusted to us by the Lord. There truly are no self-made men. Now, I don't say that to throw off on those who've worked hard for what they have. This is not to deny a person's work ethic.

Successful people work very hard for what they have and that's simply the truth. But, it's God who gives them that opportunity. One day when we stand before the master, all of us will give an account for what we did with what he entrusted to us. And that's why it's so important that we honor him with our wealth. To honor him means that we worship him. To honor him with our wealth means that we use that which he's entrusted us with, we use it for his glory and for the advancement of his kingdom.

The first fruits, or the very best, must be given to him. In fact, the Hebrew word that's used there, honor, it's the same word that means to glorify, used elsewhere in the Old Testament. It's a word that signifies the weight of importance of something. And so, a question to ask would be, does the way I use my money demonstrate the weight and the importance of God in my life? Or do I lavish my wealth simply upon myself? You know, Jesus actually had a lot to say about money and possessions. In Luke 12 15, he said, take care and be on guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his stuff.

In other words, you're not going to find life in more stuff, more possessions. More than 15% of everything Jesus said, in some way it related to money and the way that we respond to it. Out of the 38 parables that he told, 16 directly deal with the way that we respond to material wealth. Jesus had more to say about money than he did about heaven and hell combined. One out of every 10 verses in the gospels deal with money and material possessions.

And it equals out to some 288 verses. And so, evidently this is a very serious and important matter. And so, that's why we've got to view ourselves as being owners of nothing, but stewards of everything. You know, a steward has to give an account of his stewardship. And the day is coming when all of us are going to stand before the master. And we're going to give an account to him of what we did, how we used, what he entrusted to us. And I want to hear him say, well done, good and faithful servant. And so, for that matter, I believe it's a worthy admirable goal for us to honor the Lord with all of our wealth and with our possessions. Give to kingdom causes. Give sacrificially and generously to support the ministry of a local church. To support ministry that makes a difference for Christ's sake in the lives of people.

Well, that's today's devotional thought. If we can help you in any way, please send us an email. Contact us. Connect at GreenStreet.org. Thanks for listening.