Proverbs 11:
24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.
25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
After reading this, the thought occurred to me “Maybe I should write about generosity this week. Nah, not much here, and I’d rather not anyway”. Move along folks, nothing to see here…
I have a confession to make. I am not a natural giver, I am a taker. I am the youngest of two brothers and I did not learn to share. My wife would tell you this. I am especially selfish when I eat. I could be eating a brownie right beside my wife and the thought of giving her a bite of it may never cross my mind. Giving back to God has not been easy for me either, but I’m working on it. 🙂
I tell you this because I needed to write about this more than you probably needed to read it.
“Give, and you will receive.”
So I dismissed the idea of writing about generosity until I read
Luke 6: 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
Wow, read that again. This is pretty clear, isn’t it? I think it is incredible how the Holy Spirit works in my life. Once I read this, it was clear to me.
Also read this parable: Matthew 25:14-30 (parable of the talents)
God blesses us in so many ways, not just monetarily, but also with skills, knowledge, friends, attitude, hospitality, etc. The list could go on, but I think you get the picture.
I believe that God blesses us so that we may bless others.
2 Cor. 1: 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
All of a sudden, it strikes me that this is so much BIGGER than simply tithing or giving someone a some of our chocolate bar.
Check out this verse, when Moses is recollecting the 10 commandments and reminding Israel of the events since being slaves in Egypt.:
Deut. 5: 5 I stood as an intermediary between you and the Lord, for you were afraid of the fire and did not want to approach the mountain. He spoke to me, and I passed his words on to you.
Do you realize, as a child of the Living God, that you may be the ONLY intermediary for certain people in your life? You have been given knowledge about God that many people you know have no clue about. There are many people that are afraid and running from God, maybe those people would listen to you. I’m not saying that you need to go “preach” to those people, but when an opportunity comes up for you to share your knowledge about God, I pray that you consider sharing what you know. That’s something to pray about.
I know that this seems far different from the verse that we started off with, but I am discovering that whatever God is giving me, there is a purpose for it, and I have a responsibility to share it, as I am now.
What has God given you? skills, talents, knowledge, brownies 🙂 Look for ways to give, and you will not be disappointed. I’ll leave you with this:
Acts 20:35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”