TODAY’S BIBLE READING:

Genesis 26:17–27:46
Matthew 9:1-17
Psalm 10:16-18
Proverbs 3:9-10

TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Proverbs 3:9-10 (CSB) “Honor the LORD with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

REFLECTION ON TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Our Verses for today contain a clear promise.

“Honor the LORD with your possessions” and “then your barns will be completely filled…”

Stated differently: Use your money and resources to demonstrate your love for the Lord and that He is your highest priority … and the Lord will take care of you.

Now, before we get carried away, we need to realize that this promise appears in the book of Proverbs. Why is that significant? Because the book of Proverbs is different from all of the other books in the Bible in that it is a book of general truths. It is filled with principles that are generally true but not necessarily true all of the time.

Proverbs (Oxford Dictionary): “A short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice.”

I could demonstrate the point I just made ad nauseam by taking you through the book of Proverbs but I will simply provide two verses:

Proverbs 26:4 (CSB) “Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness or you’ll be like him yourself.”

Proverbs 26:5 (CSB) “Answer a fool according to his foolishness or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.”

The previous two verses appear right next to each other. One is verse 4 and the other is verse 5. So, obviously, the composer of Proverbs knew he was presenting two distinct actions that seemed to cancel each other out. If the book of Proverbs was made up of hard and fast rules, then verses 4 and 5 pose a serious discrepancy. But, if the book of Proverbs is a book of general truths, then we simply need to determine which principle (verse 4 or verse 5) to apply in any given situation.

So, when we read our verses for today, we may be tempted to say that when we honor the Lord with our wealth, that He will prosper us. Yet, with our knowledge of the book of Proverbs, we realize that it is a general truth. It is generally truth that the Lord prospers someone who honors Him.

But … as Christians, we also have the New Testament. The New Testament is not filled with general principles but with hard and fast truths. Listen to what Jesus once said:

Matthew 6:31-34 (CSB) “So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Jesus made a promise to His disciples. He told them that if the priority of their life was God’s Kingdom (sharing the Gospel and helping people grow in Christlikeness) and pursuing His righteousness (becoming more like Jesus), then God would provide for their needs. They didn’t need to worry about it as they worked to take care of themselves.

This isn’t a general principle. Jesus’ words are presented as a hard and fast rule.

Of course, God determines how He will provide for our needs, what He defines as a need, and how much He will provide. But, Jesus’ words are a promise, nonetheless, that our faith can rest on.

So, Christian friend, you can spend your time worrying about how you are going to take care of yourself or you can make God’s Kingdom and His righteousness your priority and allow God to take care of you.

For me, the choice is clear. And I have seen God meet our needs over and over again as a result.

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