Today’s Devotion
Topic: To Give Or Not To Give
Text: Proverbs 11: 24 (ESV)
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Amen
Some things by divine principles remain a mystery: how DAY always gives way to NIGHT in due time; how the sea draws back to its position after it has washed ashore to invade land for some seconds; How a man and woman join in holy matrimony as ONE FLESH and not TWO. However, equally intriguing is the law of giving: GIVERS become richer while “withholders” suffer want.
Although this law defies logic, it makes all sense from the God perspective, and this is why:
i. Created in the image and likeness of God, we can only strive to be like Him here on earth. God (Himself) is a great giver. He made us and gives all that is necessary for our existence (water, air, life etc). He even gave His only begotten Son for our salvation (John 3: 16). He gives Himself for us and yet has never lacked. Givers are therefore living nothing but the life God Himself lives. In Him, they find more and lack nothing.
ii. Secondly, giving is a kind of offering to God. It is a way of letting divinity know that we are grateful for what we have received and not greedy. It also expresses our trust in God to be able to give more than we have. So, He does exactly that.
iii. Thirdly, all givers lend to God so He literally pays them back with interest, period (Proverbs 19: 17). You see, the wisdom of God distributes earth’s resources among us such that some people receive more of certain resources than others and vice versa. Our giving helps create a world where everyone offers the GOOD they have for the benefit of those who lack, so that in the end, all lack nothing.
This is a beautiful thing because then, givers become God’s instrument of blessings for those who lack. When those who lack pray to God for help, He (God) borrows from those who have to satisfy their needs. He then pays the givers with more. He adds the extra to appreciate their obedience to lend to Him by giving to the needy. In effect, those who give keep receiving and receiving.
Dear beloved, now you know why givers keep receiving. The choice to give or not to give remains yours. But Jesus advises that you “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6: 38).
Meditate on this and begin to pray. Ask for a cheerful heart that chooses to obey God and gives than to dwell on prevailing economic factors and withhold. ONE OF THESE TWO WILL BE MORE BLESSED THAN THE OTHER.
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