In spite of all that God has done for man, men still refuse to have respect for Him. The Lord never has nor ever will compete for respect from man.
If there is anything in this world worthy of man’s respect, it is the Bible. God’s word is far superior to any other book to which man may wish to compare it.
The idea of the word respect is that an individual looks at two things and chooses to look at one of them a second time demonstrating favouritism.
Giving by faith requires giving God the firstfruits of one’s increase. The Lord not only wants us to bring our gifts to Him but also wants us to give to Him first. According to Proverbs 3:9, we should honour the Lord with the firstfruits of our increase. We are not to pay all our bills only to give God the leftovers. God is to take first place each and every time. This makes giving to Him an act of faith. After all, “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). This includes the area of giving where so many seem to struggle so much. Is God honoured when we decide to simply give Him the leftovers? Certainly not! Yet, when we give God the first of our increase, we signify to Him that we trust that He will meet the remaining needs we may have.
