Tie It Off: Honoring What Matters Most in Your Life

In ancient Israel, there was a powerful practice that shaped how God’s people approached their harvest and their relationship with Him. During the celebration of first fruits, farmers would walk through their fields and identify the very first produce that began to bloom. They would take a cord and tie it around that first fruit, marking it as belonging to God before they even knew what the rest of their harvest would yield.

What Does It Mean to “Tie Off” the First Fruits?

The practice described in Deuteronomy 26:1-4 reveals a profound principle: “When you enter the land that your Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, and you’ve conquered it and you settled there, put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship.”

This wasn’t just about agriculture. The farmers would mark the first fruit with a cord while it was still growing, setting it apart as holy before they knew anything about the quality or quantity of their harvest. They celebrated by faith, trusting that whatever came from their fields would be blessed because they honored God first.

Why Do We Lose What Matters Most?

We don’t lose what matters in life because it isn’t there. We lose it because we didn’t honor it, secure it, and take care of it. The principle is simple but profound: unmarked fruit gets lost in a busy life.

When we fail to intentionally mark what’s most important, those precious things become ordinary. They blend in with everything else and eventually receive the same attention as the mundane aspects of our lives. What should be treasured becomes an afterthought, getting only our leftovers.

The Four Steps to Protecting What’s Most Important

1. Mark It

The farmers had to identify and mark their first fruits before the busy harvest season began. As Proverbs 4:23-27 instructs: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life… Mark out a straight path for your feet and stay on that safe path.”

What you don’t intentionally mark, you will eventually overlook. You have to call it by name, recognize it, and honor it. This means being specific about what deserves priority in your life rather than treating everything equally.

2. Set It Apart

Exodus 23:19 commands: “As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God.” It wasn’t enough to just identify the first fruits – they had to be treated differently from everything else.

Setting something apart means you don’t treat it like you treat everything else. If you honor something, it gets different time, attention, words, and interest than the ordinary things in your life. Everything in your life should not be treated equally – some things deserve more importance than others.

3. Protect It

Malachi 3:8-12 reveals a powerful principle: if you protect what belongs to God, He will protect you. “Bring all of the tithe into the storehouse… I will guard them from the insects and disease.”

Whatever you protect will protect you. If you don’t guard your relationships, something will consume them. If you don’t guard your marriage, your finances, your identity, or your giftings, something else will take them away or diminish their value in your life.

4. Keep Coming Back to It

The farmers didn’t just mark the first fruits and forget about them. They continued to nurture and care for what they had set aside for God. Galatians 6:9 reminds us: “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”

What you visit consistently determines what you will live permanently. You have to sustain your priorities for them to bear fruit in your life. Don’t just mark something as important once – build patterns and habits that reinforce its value.

What Should You Honor in Your Life?

The Bible gives us clear guidance on what deserves honor: the Lord (1 Peter 2:17), your parents (Exodus 20), your marriage (Hebrews 13:4), other believers (Romans 12:10), your leaders and pastors, the elderly, widows, your employees, and those you serve.

Your giving should be treated differently than your other money. Your most important relationships should receive your best time and attention, not your leftovers. Your walk with God should be prioritized above the ordinary demands of life.

How Do You Know If Something Has Become Ordinary?

Jesus warned in Luke 8:14 that the message of God can be “crowded out by the cares of life, riches and the pleasures of this life.” When we care too much about what people think, when money controls us instead of us controlling it, or when pleasures tempt us away from what matters most, we lose sight of our priorities.

Signs that something important has become ordinary include: you see it but don’t acknowledge it, you notice it but don’t call it out, you sense its value but overlook it, or you hear God’s voice about it but don’t act on it.

Life Application

This week, identify what in your life needs to be “tied off” – restored to its place of honor and importance. What has God given you that you’ve allowed to become ordinary? What relationships, commitments, or spiritual practices have been getting your leftovers instead of your first and best?

Choose one area where you need to restore honor. Mark it intentionally by speaking about its importance. Set it apart by treating it differently than everything else in your life. Protect it by establishing boundaries that preserve its value. And commit to consistently returning to nurture what you’ve marked as priority.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What important areas of my life have I been treating as ordinary instead of special?
• How can I mark and honor what matters most in a way that others can see its importance to me?
• What boundaries do I need to establish to protect my most valuable relationships and commitments?
• What patterns and habits do I need to build to consistently nurture my priorities?

Remember: whatever you do with the first determines everything else. The best of your life will shape the rest of your life. What you prioritize and honor will determine what you become and what you experience. Don’t let what matters most get lost in the busy field of everyday life – tie it off and give it the honor it deserves.