Proverbs 11:24 - Be Generous and Find Blessing or Be Stingy and Experience Loss.
Proverbs 11:24 - Be Generous and Find Blessing or Be Stingy and
Experience Loss.
Proverbs 11:24 (NIV) One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
Proverbs 11:24 (NLT) Give freely and become more wealthy; be
stingy and lose everything.
Proverbs 11:24 (CWR) One man is generous and becomes rich, while
another hoards his money and loses everything.
Proverbs 11:24 (MSG) The world of the generous gets larger and
larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
Proverbs 11:24 (TLB) It is possible to give away and become
richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything.
COMMENTARY APPLICATION
Generosity is the path to blessing and further prosperity. By
contrast, the stingy person does not make any friends and hurts himself in
the long run. [NIV SB]
The sower multiplies his seed by casting it away. So it is with
those who are faithful in distributing God's gifts. By imparting they
increase their blessings. AA345 [Remnant SOP SB]
Here is a paradox: we become richer by being generous. The world
says to hold on to as much as possible, but God blesses those who
give freely of their possessions, time, and energy. When we give, God
supplies us with more so that we can give more. In addition, giving helps
us gain a right perspective on our possessions. We realize they
were never really ours to begin with, but they were given to us by
God to be used to help others. What then do we gain by giving?
Freedom from enslavement to our possessions, the joy of helping others,
and God's approval. [Life Application SB]
We are here taught the great lesson, that to get, we must give;
that to accumulate, we must scatter; that to make ourselves happy, we
must make others happy; and that in order to become spiritually
vigorous, we must seek the spiritual good of others. In watering others,
we are ourselves watered. How? Our efforts to be useful, bring out
our powers for usefulness. We have latent talents and dormant
faculties, which are brought to light by exercise. Our strength for labour
is hidden even from ourselves, until we venture forth to fight the
Lord's battles, or to climb the mountains of difficulty. We do not know
what tender sympathies we possess until we try to dry the widow's
tears, and soothe the orphan's grief. We often find in attempting to
teach others, that we gain instruction for ourselves. Oh, what
gracious lessons some of us have learned at sick beds! We went to teach
the Scriptures, we came away blushing that we knew so little of
them. In our converse with poor saints, we are taught the way of God
more perfectly for ourselves and get a deeper insight into divine
truth. So that watering others makes us humble. We discover how much
grace there is where we had not looked for it; and how much the poor
saint may outstrip us in knowledge. Our own comfort is also increased
by our working for others. We endeavour to cheer them, and the
consolation gladdens our own heart. Like the two men in the snow; one chafed
the other's limbs to keep him from dying, and in so doing kept his
own blood in circulation, and saved his own life. The poor widow of
Sarepta gave from her scanty store a supply for the prophet's wants, and
from that day she never again knew what want was. Give then, and it
shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and running over.
[Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon re v. 11:25]
ILLUSTRATION
Three young men were once given three kernels of corn apiece
by a wise old sage, who admonished them to go out into the world,
and use the corn to bring themselves good fortune.
The first young man put his three kernels of corn into a bowl
of hot broth and ate them.
The second thought, I can do better than that, and he planted
his three kernels of corn. Within a few months, he had three stalks
of corn. He took the ears of corn from the stalks, boiled them, and
had enough corn for three meals.
The third man said to himself, I can do better than that! He
also planted his three kernels of corn, but when his three stalks of
corn produced, he stripped one of the ears and replanted all of the
seeds in it, gave the second ear of corn to a sweet maiden, and ate
the third. His one full ear's worth of replanted corn kernels gave
him 200 stalks of corn! And the kernels of these he continued to
replant, setting aside only a minimum for eating. He eventually planted a
hundred acres of corn. With his fortune, he not only won the hand of the
sweet maiden, but purchased the land owned by the sweet maiden's
father. And he never hungered again.
God's law of sowing and reaping has never changed: What you
sow, you will reap! [God's Little Devotional Bible]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Admit it. You sometimes hesitate to give because you're
skeptical about what you'll get in return. But God's Word promises a huge
return on your investment: Give a lot and receive a lot; help someone
and you'll be helped. Be a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7) and
see what happens. God promises you'll be blessed! [The 365 Daily
Promise Bible By Barbour re. v. 11:25]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
A Better Way to Live: http://www.itiswritten.com/betterway/
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Grace Notes: http://www.e-gracenotes.org/index.php
Excellent Spiritual Resource Site:
http://www.christianlifemediacenter.com/
More Spiritual Resources: http://www.aBible.com
