Honor

I found an interesting word.

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. (Prov 3:9-10)

The interesting word is a ho-hum word until you realize its intent. The word is "honor" right there where Solomon counsels us to "Honor the LORD with your wealth." First, note, he did not say, "Get rid of your wealth." Scripture has no requirement that all believers be in poverty. No, he says to honor the Lord with it.

"So?" Fair question. "Honor" isn't new. We get it. But ... this one is interesting. The Hebrew word here is kâbad (or kâbêd). It means "to be heavy" or "to make weighty." Interesting, isn't it? I mean, in terms of "honor," this word means "honor" in the sense of "give weight to."

Now put that back in the verse. "Give weight to the LORD with your wealth." Nice word picture. And, of course, it begs the question. Do we? When we think in terms of wealth and that which we produce, do we give the "heaviest" attention to the Lord? That's a pointed question, isn't it?

Solomon clarifies his intent with his instructions. He says to give the most weight to God "with the firstfruits." While most of us do our spending by, perhaps, first-come-first-served or the pressing bills or buying whatever suits our fancy, Solomon says, "Start with God." Firstfruits. In terms of produce, in fact, the imagery is "I don't even know what all is coming in, but I'm giving God the first. If it doesn't come in like I anticipate, I'll be short ... but God won't." We need to ask ourselves, "Is God first in my budgeting and spending?" We need to consider if our personal financial planning is geared first and foremost for God.

I don't know about you, but I haven't been so good at that. The press of the world and the requirements of daily living typically push in and we might include giving to God in our budgeting and expenses, but not prioritize Him. He doesn't have the greatest weight. Perhaps we need to reconsider. Scripture calls covetousness (Eph 5:5) and greed (Col 3:5) "idolatry," but we're all apparently pretty satisfied with ours. Perhaps we don't need to reconsider; perhaps we need to repent. We certainly need to be giving God greater weight. That should go without saying.