Skip to main content

It's About Honor


          Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10) 

          Part of the reason I garden is in hopes of having produce to share with my neighbors, with friends, with people at church, and through the church, with those who come to our food pantry. Over the past couple years, I’ve shared plants with my neighbor. Buying three seedlings is less expensive than buying one larger plant. This year my neighbor and her family got kale and yellow squash. Since the yellow squash is the plant that has been producing for me, I was able to give three to the food pantry. Unfortunately, my friends are the ones who end up last on the list. It’s a small garden. I’m hoping to learn to do better next year. 
          Most people don’t do much gardening. We’re no longer an agricultural society. A number of churches I’ve attended suggest an alternative that makes sense to me. We honor God out of our gross pay, not our net pay. They may not set a specific amount, but the old testament tithe of ten percent is often used as a good example. That was a starting point for the Jews. I don’t think the amount of money involved, or the size of the harvest is the key to this. 
          The key is how much we want to honor God. Is ten percent of your income a sufficient honor to Him? Is your honor to Him the use of your vehicle? Your garden? Your time? Your talent?  Your treasure? Your obedience? Your faith? This is one of those issues that has to be revisited frequently, as circumstance change. How can you honor Him wherever you find yourself right now?

         

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more