But in the long term, if I'm being completely honest with myself (and I am), these techniques did not bring me to the resolution I was looking for. In fact, some left me downright worn out with their long list of daily to-do items, ways to think, principles to apply. I was exhausted and my world did not look measurably improved from all this long-term work I'd performed to make my life better....healthier, wealthier, wiser.
It is with this backdrop that I took pause and looked up awhile back during a time each day when I pray and read my Bible. The sentence that jumped out at me said:
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
Never mind that I had read the book of Proverbs probably a 100 times over the last 30 years and this phrase never came up before. It also could be that when I attended church, so much of the "giving" messages came across to me as manipulative and self-serving. It was all just such a major turn-off for me. Give so we can keep this business/church humming and I (the church leader) can live an abundant life is really what was being preached. I didn't see the proof in the message working for so many of the members who were "sacrificially" practicing giving their 10% (off the top of course). [Just to clarify at this point: If you hear some sarcasm or cynicism here, that's not exactly what's going on. Rather, I'm pissed off at anyone, including ministers/preachers, who teach a message that puts people in bondage rather than liberates them AND I strongly prefer Truth to a self-serving tome.] Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me get back to what I learned.
To better understand this phrase in context, I went back in the story a bit. Here's what it says:
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do,
everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child he loves that God corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this.
Proverbs 3:5-12
As I've meditated on this passage these past weeks, it continues to occur to me that there is so, so very much here. This post is only addressing barns and wine vats.....and I'm convinced that their bursting and overflowing is a by-product, the effect so to speak, of a certain cause. NO, I'm not advocating a formula! This has to stem from a person's heart.
Quite simply, but not necessarily so in practice, we are admonished to "Honor God with everything we own" and "give him the first and the best." As I asked Father and meditated on this, it was clear to me that I'd been blowing it. You can look up the word honor on your own. in a nutshell, I take it to mean in this case that we convey respect and esteem God as the true source of all that we call our own. Yes, there's so much more but you get my gist here.
Then comes the action part for us: "give him the first and the best." GIVE!
About a month before this message jumped out at me, I received my first check from a new business venture. I was excited about the quick return and decided to use a portion of the windfall to celebrate. I've received many firsts and I've not been giving that "first and the best" to God. I was lead to tell Father I'm sorry and ask forgiveness. I resolved to hear and obey this new understanding. I'll be giving to God where the Isaiah 61 message is being proclaimed.
That's the message here. Out of obedience and our heart's desire to please our True Father, we give Him the first and the best. That's it! That's the cause and the effect is clearly stated:
....Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
