Proverbs 11:24-25 - 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.
One of the most common phrases that you will hear people quote is, “It is better to give than to receive.” It is used like some sort of catch all in reminding us that being generous is more important and more enjoyable than receiving generosity from others. However, we don’t always think this way, do we? We can think of generosity as an obligation to show love more than an opportunity to show love.
This proverb takes generosity a step further by using the words “give freely”. It contrasts a person who gives to God and others without limiting what they may give. In other words, they don’t feel trapped by how much or how little they give, but they simply feel free to give what they see is appropriate. Rather than withholding what they should give, they trust that God will provide for their own needs so that they are able to give without worry.
The other person in this proverb doesn’t feel this way at all. They know what they ought to give to God and others, but they hold it back. The reasons that someone would do this are many. For instance, someone may not want to give financially out of fear that they won’t be able to pay for what they need. They may even avoid giving financially because it will make it harder for them to get what they really want, or make their life less comfortable. If we find ourselves in this frame of thought, it may be because we don’t see God as much as the provider as we think we do.
The person who gives freely can do so because they know that it is God who provides, making them rich or limiting their wealth. While giving freely may mean more financial riches are given by God in the future, it can also cause us to feel more enriched in general because we don’t carry around the burden of being controlled by what we have and doing what we can to hold on to it.
It can be challenging to know how much we are to give back to God and to others, but the question remains, will we give? Will we be generous Christians? What we have to remember is that all that we have has been given to us by God in the first place, and that we are simply stewards of what is already his. He may entrust us money, property, children, relationships and so on, but our responsibility isn’t to hide them away somewhere safe, like you would hide money in the dirt. Our responsibility is to invest what God has given us in what matters to God, and we can do that with all he has given us.
How do you generally feel about the things in your life? Are you able to trust God and give freely, or do you feel like giving is more of an obligation and a burden? You may only have two pennies to your name, but God can still bless you through your trusting him with those two pennies. Do not put your hope in riches, but put your hope in the one who faithfully provides us with all we need to walk in this life and to walk in godliness, then, give freely what he provides.
