Proverbs 3:9: “Honor the Lord with thy possessions, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.”
This verse has been stuck in my head for a few days, since I last read it in my daily reading pattern. “Firstfruits” isn’t something that comes up frequently in 21st century America; it’s one of those words that’s easy to skip over and not consider thoroughly. It’s defined though (per Oxford Languages as “the first agricultural produce of a season, especially when given as an offering to God”, and it’s something with which ancient Hebrews would have been well-acquainted.
I’ve been thinking about the amount of trust and faith it would require to give the first produce of a season to the Lord. It demonstrates a necessary dependence on the Lord to see the harvest through to the end. It’s not as though a shortfall could be easily supplemented with a quick trip to the nearest grocery store; if the weather turned before the crops were fully harvested, anything remaining in the field would likely be ruined.
I’m not sure if we have a good parallel to firstfruits. Tithing based on one’s income regardless of expenses is one way to approach it, but it still seems to be a bit of a false equivalent. I don’t know how, or even if, we demonstrate such a practical reliance on the Lord. Something to think about.