“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”
Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV)
Five weeks. One long, honest look in the mirror.
I didn’t start this series as a teacher. I started it as a guy who needed to work some things out. And if you’ve been reading along, maybe you’ve been doing the same. Paul said it plainly in Romans 7: he did the things he didn’t want to do, and didn’t do the things he knew he should. So did we. So do we. The flesh is loud, and it doesn’t take a vacation.
But this final week isn’t about the battle between Spirit and Flesh. We’ve covered that well. This week is about a harder, quieter question.
Are you bringing your best, first?
Not the tired version. Not the leftovers. Your first and your best.
First fruits is an old concept with an immediate application. It shows up in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Proverbs, Ezekiel, Romans, Corinthians, and Revelation. From cover to cover, God has been making the same ask: give me the first and the best. Not because He needs it, but because the posture of your heart changes when you do.
Cain and Abel illustrate this perfectly. Cain brought some of his harvest. Abel brought the firstborn portions, the fat, the best. God saw the difference. And so did Cain, which is what made him so angry. Deep down, he knew he had withheld. We always know when we’ve withheld.
But here’s what wrecked me as I studied this week: first fruits isn’t just about the tithe. It’s about what we give, and to whom, and in what order. It’s your patience. Your attention. Your best words. The version of yourself that shows up present and unhurried. That’s the offering. And the question is whether your family, your spouse, your kids, even the stranger in the drive-thru lane, whether they get your first, or whatever is left.
Love. Joy. Peace. — In First Fruits Terms:
Love is sacrificial. It always costs something. First fruits cost Abel something. They cost us something too. That’s the whole point.
Joy is the strength to give anyway, especially when you’re tired, when you’ve been wronged, when no one is watching. Joy isn’t about your circumstances; it’s about what powers your next move.
Peace is trusting God with the outcome. When we give our best and let go of the results, we’re finally standing in peace. Whole. Lacking nothing. Not because everything is fine, but because He is faithful.
This week we won’t frame stories as Flesh vs. Spirit choices. We’ll look at moments where a father, a husband, a son, brought his first fruits, or discovered what it cost him not to. These aren’t made-up situations. They’re the Tuesday afternoon of your life.
The question for this week: Does your family taste your first fruits, or your leftovers?
Heart Check — This Week:
- Am I giving God my first attention, or what’s left after everything else?
- Does my spouse feel my best, or the version of me that arrives after the day has already taken its toll?
- Am I coaching my kids, or criticizing them?
- When was the last time I gave my parents my time, not out of obligation, but because they deserve my first?
- Do the strangers in my daily orbit experience any of my fruit at all?
Fruit is for others to taste. Let’s bring the best. First.
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