MANAGEMENT POSITIONS OPEN: When we join God’s family, we are appointed the position of manager. He also promises to give us all the resources we need to be effective.  In return, he wants our love and honor.  How are we to love and honor God?

We are living in very challenging and stressful times in which possession, money, and wealth matter to all. However, if not careful, the pursuit of wealth will pull us away from what really matters, which is our relationship with God and one another. 

Satan uses the things of this world to tempt and lure us to him. However, the Word of God provides us with the guidance needed to avoid his trap. (Split)

In the Bible, God has provided us with practical guidance on how to live above the stresses of life, and we are given instructions on how to manage the resources He has given us. 

In this series, from a biblical perspective, we will look at how to manage effectively the resources God has given us while prioritizing what really matters.

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Asking For God’s Guidance

Heavenly Father, God Almighty. You set before us your precious promises. Help us grab hold of them by faith with the firm assurance that your promises never fail.

In Jesus the Name Amen

God has promised to give us all the resources we need to sustain the family business He has given us. How do we show our love and appreciation for Him?

 He has adopted us into his family. He has appointed us managers. And He provides us with the resources we need to manage the business he has given us effectively.

Not only does God provide the resource we need to sustain the family business, but He also gives us instructions on how to manage it.  Much of the instruction is found in the Book of Proverbs.

In reading the Book Proverbs, you will find that it is not so much about what is right and what is wrong. It is more about wisdom and foolishness. In it, we learn the difference between a wise manager and a foolish manager.

Throughout the book, one will see the benefits of wisdom and the pitfalls of foolishness.

Also, many precious bilateral promises are extended to His managers. (Split) Remember that bilateral promises are contractual agreements that if you do this, then this will happen, or I will do this.

For example, in reading Proverbs 3:1–10, what promises do we find in these verses?

1 My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;

2 For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,

4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. (Proverbs 3:1-10)

There are many promises in these ten verses. I want to focus mainly on Proverbs 3:9 and 10, which says:

9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9).

What does this verse mean for us today?

In loving him back, God wants us to show our appreciation to Him for adopting us into his family and making us managers of everything He gives us. How do we show our appreciation as His managers? We put Him first! As in Proverb 3:9. We honor God with the “firstfruits of all (our) increase.”

Why do this?

Doing this is an acknowledgment that God is the owner and ruler of everything, and it demonstrates that we have faith that he will provide for us. But he does not leave it at that.

God promises us that if we put Him first in everything we obtain, He will bless what remains. He will bless what we have left.

You see, when we put God first, we show our faith and trust in Him. We show God that we love and trust Him with all our hearts. It also demonstrates that we do not lean on or depend on ourselves to save us, nor do we expect others to save or take care of us.

We put our trust in God. Why because sometimes circumstances come that are beyond our or any human control. We on our own can’t understand or even make sense of them. But God knows, sees, and understands all.

Above all, Jesus’ death on the cross should help us put our total trust in God’s love for us. God gave His only Son as a ransom for us.

Think about everything God has given us in giving his Dear Son. In Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God. Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection redeemed us and made Him who is our Redeemer, our Elder Brother.

Jesus is our Creator according to Psalm 100:3 and John 1:1-4

Psalm 100:3

3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. (Psalm 100:3)

John 1:1-4

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)

Jesus is the One who sustains us. He keeps us alive according to Hebrews 1:3.

3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3)

Revelation 5:9 lets us know that Jesus is our Savior, He is our redeemer. (Split)

Revelation 5:9

9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, (Revelation 5:9). (Split)  

Knowing this it should come with pleasure that we are willing to give God the first fruit or first part of everything we receive.

How do we do this?

We give God the first fruit of our increase when we return a faithful tithe. What is a tithe? It is 10% of whatever you earn. In modern terms, as manager of God’s family business, if you earned one hundred dollars, ten dollars of the hundred go back to God for the purpose of spreading the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus, and God’s saving grace.

“Not only does the Lord claim the tithe as His own, but He tells us how it should be reserved for Him. He says, ‘Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase.’ This does not teach that we are to spend our means on ourselves, and bring to the Lord the remnant, (what is left) even though it should be otherwise an honest tithe. Let God’s portion be first set apart.”—Counsels on Stewardship, p. 81.

So, God says that if you put Him first, your “barns will be filled with plenty” (Proverbs 3:10).

But obtaining full storerooms won’t happen overnight. That is, you aren’t going to wake up one morning and find that your storerooms or barns are full all of a sudden.

We must first be good managers. The Bible is filled with many principles on management, careful planning, and financial responsibility. In searching it, we learn how to carefully and wisely manage and plan.

Among these principles is that of being faithful to God. Faithfulness to Him is our first and foremost responsibility. In so doing we are promised that our “barns” or storerooms or savings accounts will be full of everything we need. We will have plenty, just as the Bible promises.

Yes, we want to be faithful to God, but how do we learn to trust God and His promises when we are experiencing hardship? It comes with development, experience, and practice. Find out more on Day 5: The Tithe Contract

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