At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of Cabul to this day. Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
1 Kings 9:10-14
Father God, how many times have I withheld the best for myself and given to others my “leftovers?” How many times have I not shared the first fruit of my portion with others, withholding for myself the choicest of the selection? I know when I say it that way immediately I think to myself, “I would never do that.” Yet, when I think about it closely, when it comes to giving of my share, rarely do I look at the best portion and say, “I will give this to my friend.” I may consider it for my loved ones. But for an outsider? No. And this despite the fact that they may have loved and served me well, themselves sacrificing what they have viewed as precious. This almost smacks of an attitude that they should be thankful I have given them anything. Though I may act like I would never think that thought, by not giving them the better portion, I am in essence not honoring them the way You have honored me. You did not withhold from me but gave me the best You had, Jesus. You did not skimp on blessing me but caused my coffers to overflow, even in lean times. You did not portion out to me second tier blessings but have poured out Your love in a magnificent way. You have blessed me beyond my understanding. Today I purpose to do the same. Use me to put a smile on someone’s face. I pray that You would grant me the opportunity to be a tremendous blessing to someone else today, doing something for them and pouring my life into theirs in such a way that they cannot doubt that I am being used by You. Show me my selfish tendencies and give me the grace and courage to combat them, knowing by faith that it is You that has blessed me to be a blessing, and that it is You that has made the provision. Let the “cities” that I give to them be so pleasing to them that it overshadows the “120 talents” that they have given to me. I want them to know that I love them, am grateful for them, and that I want to bless them even as they have blessed me.