“Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”
Proverbs 11:24-25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.11.24-25.NLT
Throughout scripture, God describes a way of living flowing from his abundance. It cultivates blessing for everyone who trusts him to live this way.
These two verses in Proverbs get to the heart of his intentions around the stewardship of resources of time, presence, money, relationship, and things.
Reflection
It may be helpful to understand the opposite of what God invites us into. Following are a few of the verses from Proverbs 11 describing the contrast:
- “Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you.
- Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.
- The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity.
- Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.
- People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.
- Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.
- Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind. The fool will be a servant to the wise.”
Proverbs 11:17-18, 20, 24, 26, 28-29 NLT
The contrast is clear. The stewardship of all God has provided is meant to meet our needs and to be generously shared with others. Kindness over cruelty. A faithful way of living over quick riches. Integrity over a crooked heart. Giving over stinginess. Flourishing in God over trusting in our own wealth. Caring for our families rather than bringing trouble on them.
When we steward all the resources God gives with generosity, we are living in the streams of God’s abundance. His heart is for us to thrive and be refreshed along the way.
Caution against misinterpretation
We have been conditioned to common misinterpretations about being generous, prosperous, and refreshed. Let me address them here:
- Misunderstanding prosperity: Unfortunately, there are segments within the Christian Religion that teach and practice a corrupted view of prosperity that promises personal wealth through generous giving.
This is a “spiritualized” version of a few people getting rich, while taking gross advantage of the sacrificial generosity of many. This is an abuse of God’s view of abundance, and it takes advantage of the vulnerable.
Abundance comes from God. He is abundant. He is the source of it. He is generous with everything he has. He asks us to do the same.
God does want us to prosper. By faithfully following him we will thrive in a way of living that is helpful to every area of our lives. His promises are true. His provision is real.
The “give to get” mentality of misguided “prosperity gospel” is vastly different from what God is inviting us into. In Christ, we are being invited into a life of abundance that will grow and last forever. There is nothing quick about it. God’s abundance has the pace of eternity.
- Stewardship matters: There is a line of thinking that goes something like this: If God is going to provide everything, and all I need to do is give everything away for God to take care of me, then I do not need to do much. The message is stewardship does not matter. This is so misguided.
Stewardship is our part of taking part in God’s abundance. It involves work, planning, managing, creating, caring for, and handling all God has entrusted to us. We see this in the parable of the talents.
Generosity, sharing, and investing is all part of the journey of following Christ.
Working hard is a gift, not something to be dismissive of. Learning how to manage resources, care for people, and steward our time are examples of stewardship.
We steward life in a relationship focused on and listening to God.
Encouragement
Generosity, from God’s perspective, will not deplete you. Rather, it will replenish you. Be generous with relationships, time, and resources.
Make the most of the opportunities God gives to you. Steward them well. Discern, work hard, and be diligent.
Build generosity into all the patterns and disciplines of your life.
Prayer
Dear Father God,
Thank you for your abundance and generosity towards us.
Thank you bringing refreshment to our lives as we trust in and follow you through Jesus Christ, the living son of God.
Help us to guard against being stingy and selfish, as this is counter to everything about you, your ways, and your kingdom.
Guide us in building generosity into everything we do.
May we embrace the work involved in diligent stewardship, making the most of all you have entrusted into our care.
We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Amen
Ed McDowell