Pro 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.

In this proverb, we are commanded to honour the LORD with our wealth and with the firstfruits of all our produce. The “substance” here refers to our wealth. The “firstfruits” implies it should be our foremost priority; we are not to give to the Lord our leftovers. By offering the firstfruits of the increase of our substance, we demonstrate that God is number one in our lives. Therefore, when planning the budget, our giving to God should be at the top of the list and not at the bottom. How important is God to us? Yes, we can say God is number one in our lives. But, do our lives and worship show that He is indeed the most important Being in our lives? Talk is easy but to walk the talk is difficult. Christ says: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Yes, we should honour God with our wealth; there is no doubt about it. And, if God is truly the most important Being in our lives, we will want to honour Him. We will want to honour Him with our wealth and possessions. Yet, wealth is not the only substance we can give to the Lord. There are many other ways we can honour God. Those things are also our “substances” and they are from God. Therefore, it is only right we honour God with ALL our “substances”. What are they? 1. Time. Time is a commodity given by God. We exist because God is graciously giving us time. Time stops for us when we die. Every day, God deposits 86, 400 seconds into our account or 168 hours a week. How much of that time is given to honour God? When one says he has no time to serve God, he is not honouring God with the substance called TIME. Serving God certainly will take away our time. Are we honouring God with our time? 2. Talents. Our talents come from God. Are we using our talents to serve God? Whether you are a lawyer, doctor, accountant, engineer, businessmen, bus driver, repairman, cook, baker, care giver, or student, you can use your talent to serve God. We serve God when we serve in the church or when we serve the brethren: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8). 3. Possessions. Our Lord laid down this principle: “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). You may think just because you bought the car therefore it wasn’t freely given to you by God. But think about it: if God has not given you the power to earn and to have surplus, do you think you could afford it? The Scripture says: “He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise” (Luke 3:11). We can honour God with our possessions. 4. Body. Paul exhorts in Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”. Our bodies belong to God. We honour God with our bodies by serving Him. Our Lord says: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30). Well, that pretty covers all how we should honour God – our entire being. How are you honouring God?