First Principle

Prov.3:^9-10 (TLB) “Honour the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and he will fill your barns with wheat and barley and overflow your wine vats with the finest wines”[with emphasis].

The first word in today’s Scripture reference is honour and it is a pointer to where everything should flow from. The truth is that no child can bring consistent honour to his or her father without loving him. Love is what makes a child able to honour the father consistently. Lu.10:²⁷ “‘…You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind…” If you struggle with this, you really cannot consistently honour God in all the situations you find yourself in. The reality is that a child that does not love the father, will dishonour him and see nothing wrong with it.

Mal.1:⁶ [NIV] “A son honours his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honour due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’” The reality is that some people will slap your face and still ask, “Please tell us what we did and how we have dishonoured you.” No point in responding or trying to make such people see the error in their ways. Just pray for them and love them from a distance.

The difference between the servant that fails and a son that fails is, the servant feels bad because his job is on the line. The son feels bad because he let his father down and he loves his father. So, the choice between “Me or Jesus?” is not a laborious option if you love Him. It is not a decision you sweat about if your heart is with Him. But most times the number one question that underlines the decision is, “Is choosing Jesus worth it and what is in it for me? Will it pay me more to choose me or to choose Jesus? This is how the natural man thinks.

If  you choose Jesus just because it pays you, then it is still all about you – “me or me?” If the only reason I pay my tithe is because God will bless me, rebuke devourers for my sake and when everybody says there is a casting down, I will say there is a lifting up and I will receive a hundred fold. Even though this is true, you would have missed it – that is a “me or me?” situation. The whole purpose of tithing is to honour God. You honour God with your tithe –big difference!

Prayer: Father, in Jesus Name, I will love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Amen!