“There is one who scatters yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.” Proverbs 11:24-26
I love Proverbs. I love all Scripture, but what I love about Proverbs is the impetus to take this teaching and put it into practice today, right now. In these three Proverbs we are encouraged to have a generous character, not only to be generous but to have generosity be an attribute of who we are in Christ. In thinking about generosity, we usually think of money but to be a generous character we need to broaden that idea. This means we are to be generous with all our possessions, our time, and our words, as well as our money. We are to be generous with who we are.
In the first Proverb (vs24) the picture is of a farmer sowing seed in a field. The more seed you sow the greater abundance of food you get. This is the way we are called to look at our generosity. The more generous we are with people, the more abundance we get. It’s interesting to note that when a farmer finishes sowing seed the field looks like a desert at first. It looks like all that work accomplished nothing. This is also true of being generous.
When we give generously of ourselves it often seems like all we’ve done is lose whatever it was we gave away. We feel the loss and wonder what good it accomplished. Like the farmer, we are encouraged to be patient and trust in God’s timing and faithfulness. He has promised to bring an abundance of blessings in His time and in His way through our faithful generosity. Like the farmer, the more generosity is spread, the more abundance! And this abundance applies to us, as the second Proverb makes clear. The generous soul will be made rich.
The third proverb is a warning against selfishly refusing to be generous. We are not to be selfish with the things we have, acting like a three year old who refuses to share his toys and snacks with others. God has given each and every one of us giftings, learned abilities, callings, time, money, possessions, intellect, etc. Everything we have is given to us by God to use for His glory. He gives us all these amazing things and bids us, “Be generous!”
Just like sowing seed or watering a garden, it takes work and effort. We should take time today and think, “How can I bless the people in my life today. Where is God giving me an opportunity to be generous today?” God assures us in these Proverbs that if we plant the seed, if we do the work of watering, He will grant abundant growth some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred-fold.
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn