Some people ask me if I have a hard time talking about money in church. And they often look surprised when I say that I don’t. It’s not because I’m especially interested in the topic or claim to know everything regarding it. I simply see the stress on the American home and know that there’s a very good reason for discussing it. 

And God recognizes its importance too. He knows that one day we’ll all enter into eternal dwellings, and when we do he wants to be proud of what we made of what he gave us. We only have one chance to do something on the earth for him-- it’s up to us to make it count.

        So how do we make it count? It always begins with that first step. Though it’s often the hardest, once taken, it’ll cause the final destination to become clearer. God reveals this step to us in Proverbs 3:9-10 by saying, “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.”

In order for God to lead us into blessing, we have to show that he’s first in our lives. By offering the first part of our income, we’re opening the doors for him to invade our lives and bless us inconceivably.

In 1 Kings 17, we see an example of the rewards of living with right priorities. In Verse 8 God tells Elijah to ask a certain woman to feed him. Normally, this wouldn’t require much of a sacrifice, but listen to this woman’s conditions: She was a widow, had a son and was living in the midst of a drought. Her land was unable to produce crops, and she was about to use her last handful of flour and bottle of oil to feed her son one more time before they both died.

Still, Elijah did as he was instructed and asked her to feed him. He said, “Don’t be afraid! ... For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!’” The widow trusted God and he blessed her just as he said he would. Both she and her son lived and had plenty to eat and drink until the period of drought and famine was over!

God wants us to know that he’ll do the same for us if we’ll make him the number one priority in our lives.  It can be easy to doubt when we don’t see the end result, but that’s what faith is. It’s showing God that he’s first and trusting that he’ll keep his promises.

So, I encourage you today to determine that you’ll put God first in your finances. By honoring him with the first part of your possessions, you are taking the first step into a life of abundance!