“One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”
Proverbs 11:24-25
The entire Bible is full of backwards and unconventional wisdom like this. Think about the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus opens up with lines like these:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit…”
“Blessed are those who mourn…”
“Blessed are the meek…”
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness…”
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you…”
Jesus even makes his concluding statement that begins with “Rejoice and be glad…”
How backwards, right?? How twisted!
And yet, this is the beauty of the Gospel message, that God’s love and wisdom are far beyond our comprehension, while also being so near and dear and right within our hearts.
Back to Proverbs 11, this Biblical wisdom has some amazing implications for our lives today.
It would appear that the author is teaching us that giving is a blessing – and not only to the one who is receiving the gift.
The gift of giving is also for the one who gives. Further, we’re told that our giving is to be done generously and selflessly and joyously, which all serve as a double blessing for the receiver and the giver.
With all of this talk about giving, it might bring up the important question, “Giving what?”
You might also be wondering about being generous for the sake of receiving prosperity and if that’s how it works.
Here are two quick notes on these two questions:
- The Bible teaches a consistent message that we are to cultivate a generous heart as a whole, and that it wouldn’t be segregated in any one area of our life. We can and ought to be generous with our time, money, talents, effort, passions, connections, etc. We’re called to bring everything that we have and everything that we are back to God, that He might use those things for purposes far greater than we could ever accomplish ourselves.
- The Bible does not teach any form of the prosperity gospel. It is indeed more blessed to give than to receive, and – as we read here – that the generous person will prosper, but this is a far cry from implying that giving money will automatically lead to God blessing you with even more money yourself. God doesn’t work in a transactional relationship like this, and the blessings He promise are not always in the form of finances.
A helpful and practical way of thinking about this concept of giving and gaining is to look at the original meanings of the word “give” in this passage. It originally reflected the idea of scattering, like seeds and crops.
Picture a handful of sunflower seeds, and that these are the last sunflower seeds in all the world.
(A likely scenario, I’m aware, but stick with me!)
You could certainly keep them all for yourself to eat as you got hungry, but withholding them in this manner would result in a short-lived, momentary satisfaction. If, however, you decided to plant them, you would eventually reap the benefits of your “giving” in the form of many sunflowers that could continue to produce many more sunflower seeds for you to plant and eat.
As Christians, we’re called to give in this manner – not withholding anything back for self-preservation, but to give it all away for the sake of the Kingdom. In this, we will gain even more!
But again, we must ask the questions “What are we giving?” and “What are we gaining?”
Everything we talked about above still applies here, but I’d like to add that what we are gaining is simple yet profound:
We are gaining unveiled access to God Himself. As we become more open to receiving God’s mercy and grace, the veils of our sin and selfishness begin to lift, and we are able to connect with God in the most incredible ways.
To turn this message into one about gaining more money, status, comfort, or influence would be stopping wildly short of the finish line toward which we are called to run. No, this message is about the gift of eternity with God, including a closeness that we can begin to develop here and now.
– When you think about your relationship with God, what do you value most about it? What do you hope to gain from it?
– Do you find it easier to be more generous with some aspects of your life than with others? Your time, money, talents, effort, passions, connections, etc.?
– Think about the final line in these verses, “whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” What does this mean to you?