Below please find a continuation of my discussion of Chapter 3 of Proverbs.
1. Give to the Lord. "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits…" (Proverbs 3:9 ESV). I think the use of "honor" here is appropriate. The Lord does not need anything from us so when we give something to him such as a tithe we are not giving him a gift as one would for someone's birthday or Christmas, rather we are honoring him with it. We are sacrificing something of ourselves (in fact our best, our firstfruits) to affirm the goodness of God and to remind ourselves that this very thing we're giving, is actually in and of itself a gift from God, who gives us all good things. In a sense our tithes and other gifts to God (such as talents he has blessed us with) serve as reminders of his goodness, not our own. And if we give we will receive for "then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine" (Proverbs 3:10 ESV).
2. Endure the Lord's Discipline with Patience and Thanksgiving. We should not "despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof" (Proverbs 3:11 ESV) "for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:12 ESV). Unlike perhaps our parents' discipline, the Lord's discipline is always done out of love and only to the extent that we need it to receive instruction. This discipline helps to remove our sin nature from us. I am not sure but I imagine that Moses, who went into exile for 40 years after murdering a man in cold blood and came out of it the meekest man in the world, probably endured some discipline from the Lord to bring about such a change in his temperament. The result was he was chosen to be the leader of the Israelites, a nation of many peoples. I doubt he would have been chosen (or been able) to fulfill such an assignment had a heart change not been rendered in him to do so.
3. Wisdom Profits a Man More Than Silver or Gold. As discussed in the previous chapters it is profitable to man to gain wisdom, which endures as opposed to material riches which perish (Proverbs 3:13,14 ESV). This sentiment is echoed by our Lord who tells us to store our riches in heaven and not on earth. Moreover she comes with long life, riches and honor and she brings peace to those who heed her words (Proverbs 3:16, 17 ESV).
4. Do Not Fear What Other (Ungodly) Men Fear. The man of God is not concerned with what troubles other men, in particular the wicked, because he is not subject to the wrath that they are, therefore "[d]o not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence..." (Proverbs 3:25, 26 ESV).
5. Give When You Can Where You Can How You Can. We are admonished not to "withhold good from those to whom it is due" (Proverbs 3:27 ESV). I think this good can mean many things: time, talents, money, etc. and we should pray to the Lord to reveal to us those gifts that we can be sharing with the world. If you cannot give money (or time) then perhaps you can say a short prayer on someone's behalf. We can always pray and that is one of the greatest gifts that the Lord has bestowed upon us.
------------------------------------------End of Part 2
*ESV=English Standard Version
1. Give to the Lord. "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits…" (Proverbs 3:9 ESV). I think the use of "honor" here is appropriate. The Lord does not need anything from us so when we give something to him such as a tithe we are not giving him a gift as one would for someone's birthday or Christmas, rather we are honoring him with it. We are sacrificing something of ourselves (in fact our best, our firstfruits) to affirm the goodness of God and to remind ourselves that this very thing we're giving, is actually in and of itself a gift from God, who gives us all good things. In a sense our tithes and other gifts to God (such as talents he has blessed us with) serve as reminders of his goodness, not our own. And if we give we will receive for "then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine" (Proverbs 3:10 ESV).
2. Endure the Lord's Discipline with Patience and Thanksgiving. We should not "despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof" (Proverbs 3:11 ESV) "for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:12 ESV). Unlike perhaps our parents' discipline, the Lord's discipline is always done out of love and only to the extent that we need it to receive instruction. This discipline helps to remove our sin nature from us. I am not sure but I imagine that Moses, who went into exile for 40 years after murdering a man in cold blood and came out of it the meekest man in the world, probably endured some discipline from the Lord to bring about such a change in his temperament. The result was he was chosen to be the leader of the Israelites, a nation of many peoples. I doubt he would have been chosen (or been able) to fulfill such an assignment had a heart change not been rendered in him to do so.
3. Wisdom Profits a Man More Than Silver or Gold. As discussed in the previous chapters it is profitable to man to gain wisdom, which endures as opposed to material riches which perish (Proverbs 3:13,14 ESV). This sentiment is echoed by our Lord who tells us to store our riches in heaven and not on earth. Moreover she comes with long life, riches and honor and she brings peace to those who heed her words (Proverbs 3:16, 17 ESV).
4. Do Not Fear What Other (Ungodly) Men Fear. The man of God is not concerned with what troubles other men, in particular the wicked, because he is not subject to the wrath that they are, therefore "[d]o not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence..." (Proverbs 3:25, 26 ESV).
5. Give When You Can Where You Can How You Can. We are admonished not to "withhold good from those to whom it is due" (Proverbs 3:27 ESV). I think this good can mean many things: time, talents, money, etc. and we should pray to the Lord to reveal to us those gifts that we can be sharing with the world. If you cannot give money (or time) then perhaps you can say a short prayer on someone's behalf. We can always pray and that is one of the greatest gifts that the Lord has bestowed upon us.
------------------------------------------End of Part 2
*ESV=English Standard Version
