Proverbs 11.24-26
“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.”
Wise people are generous; they are givers. Foolish people are selfish; they are takers. Ironically, generous people end up rich, whereas selfish people end up poor. The reference to “rich and poor” sometimes means material wealth, but always means spiritual wealth.
Generous people seek to help others when they can and how they can. They give of their time, talent, and treasures. They seek to be a blessing to others. As a result, they are enriched, and in return receive blessings from others. People love to give back to givers. Generosity breeds generosity.
It works the other way, as well. Selfish people seek to help themselves. They hesitate (or refuse) to give of their time, talent, and treasure. They invest only in themselves. They love to receive, but they don’t like to give. As a result, they are impoverished. People do not like to give to takers. Selfishness breeds selfishness.
The New Testament teaches the same discipline. “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
Notice that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. The Lord doesn’t want people to be reluctant or hesitant in their generosity. He blesses those who cheerfully and happily give to others.
Notice also that the reason a Christian should be cheerfully generous is because the Christian has received from the fullness of God’s grace. In other words, the Lord gives generously to us so that we can give generously to others. The Lord blesses us so that we can be a blessing to other people.
Christians are called to be conduits, nor mere recipients, of God’s grace. Few things are more tragic than a Christian who has received from God but who hesitates (or refuses) to give to others.
The way of the kingdom of God is very straightforward: God gives generously to us so that we can give generously to others.
When most people think of generosity and giving, they usually think of money. But I don’t think money is the primary focus here. There are lots of ways to give generously to others.
For example, the principle of generosity applies to listening. In order to truly listen to someone, you must generously give them your full attention. That means you must discipline your mind and open your heart to their situation and their story. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
But here’s the problem. Most of us are not generous listeners. Why is that? Because we tend to be self-oriented. We find it hard to give other people our full attention when they are talking to us. We get bored at what they are saying. We aren’t really interested in their situation or their story. We are distracted because other things are on our mind.
I think it is fair to say that we all have work to do when it comes to generosity.
Trust God, do the work, and be generous. Listening better is a good place to start.
