Proverbs Ch 3:7-10

"7Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8It
will be health to your flesh,[1] And strength[2] to your bones.

9Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the first-fruits of all your increase; 10So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine". -NKJV

I think that God uses coincidences as signs to tell you something or to reinforce a point. I went to a local café to start thinking through my finances in light of current circumstances (new house, new baby, loss of second income) and also to catch up on the Bible reading plan. But upon opening Proverbs - verses 9 and 10 really impressed upon me.

My thoughts on these verses:

1) Keep Proper Perspective: vs 8-9 follows on from ‘lean not on your own understanding’ don’t be an independent thinker apart from God. Don’t rely on your own intellectual ability to solve problems. You are nothing without God. God is the giver of wisdom. The moment you think yourself wise you have lost all perspective – and stepped back into the territory of foolishness.

2) The Principle of the First Fruits: vs 9-10 I may be wrong here, but personally, I do not believe that as Christians we are under the obligation of old the testament laws per se – including compulsory tithing (I think Martin Luther would turn in his grave if I did - "We are under Grace not Law"). Also, I don’t think tithing is a principle in itself (e.g. I put 10% in the bucket – I’ll get a guarnteed return of "my investment" plus more back!).

But I do believe in the general principle of ‘sowing and reaping’ and also the virtue and obvious benefits and outcomes of generosity. And I agree that we should not ignore the practices and traditions of the OT - which were designed as practices for Better Living and to improve our relationship with God.

And whilst not a principle in itself, I do believe that the tithe is both a good standard or a measure of a principle in action– (a Key Performance Indicator or benchmark of priorities in action so to speak) - to which Christians should aspire with the objective of resourcing God's work. It is fair that people should aim to contribute equitably (I wish our tax system worked like that).

It is clear that the 10% first- fruits principle was used by Godly people such as Abraham to give back to God – well before the introduction of the Law. In modern times, possibly it should be seen as a standard of excellence to aspire to for Christians (possibly if one gave 100% they may be close to perfection in this area(?) Matt 19:21). To be honest - I'm currently way of the mark in my giving I and know in my heart that I need to get my own act together again in the whole area of giving and generosity.

What I do know is that generous people prosper – (and not necessarily in monetary terms). Their vats do in fact overflow – because the give with their hearts and not as a matter of compulsion - their faces glow, they are graceful and secure in both themselves and God. Its also apparent that adequately resourced Christian organizations do great things – because of the generosity of their benefactors.

This world is only a better place as a consequence of generous people.

Stingy people are quite the opposite – they are like a vacuum - consitently taking all that they can - and more than they give. I’ve come across a really good article on budgeting from Crown Financial Ministries to help me work through these issues and to realign my financial priorities, make some decisions and take some action.

"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me?" Author: Brian Tracy