"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." - Prov 11:25
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We have a new topic this week --- giving, generosity, liberality!... and we fear that most of our readers will skip this subsection of our study, because they have been repeatedly beaten over the head from the pulpit on the joys of giving, giving with hilarity, "sacrifical giving", sowing "seeds" , and promises of a thousand-fold return on your investment!
Add to this the regular requests of money from various charities, scams perpetrated by people looking to line their pockets by leveraging catastrophic events like the earthquake in Haiti, and it seems like there is a constant bombardment with requests for money from all directions!
Please, you might be thinking, we have had it with lectures on giving/tithing ad-nauseam, can't you guys find something else to talk about? ?
Well, yes, and no --- yes, there are plenty of other topics (that we have touched on already) , but we are going through the book of Proverbs verse by verse, and dealing with the subject matters that come up as we go through it, and so, no... we really don't have a choice! .... but maybe, just maybe, we might be able to offer a perspective that is fresh and new.... let's dive in!!!
Our text this week is really a statement of a Spiritual Law.... just like the law of gravity, or even something as somber as "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezekiel 1:20). Its a statement of fact, a very calm, and clearly articulated truth!
It would also seem to pass the test of justice --- should not one that waters be watered himself, should not one that gives be eligible to receive in turn? Duh... yes of course.... AND the Word confirms this fact/truth/promise in more than one place, just in the book of Proverbs, we find ---
Pro 3:9,10 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine
Pro 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
Prov 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. ( Our text this week )
Pro 13:7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
Pro 14:21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Pro 19:6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. { This is a different twist... ? }
Pro 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
Pro 21:25,26 The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.
Pro 22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Pro 28:27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
Pro 31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. { Speaking of the virtuous woman }.
Lets take Prov 3:9,10 --- It talks about honoring God with our possessions, and with the first fruits of our INCREASE.
Note, it is NOT from the depths of our WANT, or NEED. This is why we are not comfortable at all with people asking the church to give out of their want... if you don't have money to spare ... the LORD never asks you for it, friends!
In the Law, the poor were NEVER asked to tithe! ( Read our study on tithing or watch the video). Tithes were taken from people who owned land and/or cattle. Money was NEVER accepted as a tithe in the Old Testament... the only MONEY ever mentioned in the LAW, (apart from fines) is the temple tax, which everyone above 20, rich or poor, owed annually.
Exo_30:15 "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls."
This tax is mentioned in the Gospels as well....
" And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, 'Doth not your master pay tribute?' He saith, 'Yes.'
{ What Peter said was not correct, and the Lord will switfly school him}
And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, " What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?"
Peter saith unto him, "Of strangers." Jesus saith unto him, -----"Then are the children -----free (!!) ." ------
Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. "
-( Matt 17:24-27)
God did not REQUIRE people to give much at all in the OT, and when He did, he made no difference between the rich and the poor, and the amount was small enough that all could afford it.
Contrast that attitude with some denominations that insist that your giving be exactly 10% of Gross (not even Net)... even from those congregants that can't afford it. There should be special layers in Hell reserved for people like that....
God gives to us every day... light, oxygen, food, rain --- making no difference between wicked and righteous. Is it not right that we should honor such beneficence by giving back to Him?
Well.. you may say... how do we do that? There is no Temple anymore, and we certainly can't give directly to God. Here's a verse that should tie everything together...
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto ----one of the ----least of these ----my brethren---, ye have done it unto ----Me---." - 25:40
God is to be found in the poor made in His image, and counted as His brothers and sisters.
Give and support the poor in your community and neighborhood... directly if you can, and if you trust your church or charity to be good stewards of your offerings, through them.
Give of your surplus, and increase... and give what you can spare. If you need the money to feed yourself and your family... don't give!
God doesn't ask it of you friends... Give food, give of your clothing, give essential needs, give of your time, and you WILL be blessed.
What about scams and the lazy? What about the people perennially looking for a handout? How should we deal with those?
Laziness is condemned universally in the Word...( Just look at Prov 21:25,26 in our texts this week) and right from Genesis, we are told that Man is ordained to eat food by the sweat of his brow, and his labor in coaxing it from the earth. If a man does not work, he gives up the right to demand food. (We are not talking about the involuntarily unemployed, or those that cannot work due to genuine disabilities or circumstances.)
Deceit and trickery are the works of the wicked, and we are to have nothing to do with them. Exercise some basic common sense and discretion, check charitable organizations to see if they are transparent as to their "administrative overheads"... if they are not, avoid them like the plague.
Lastly, what about giving to the church?
Our (very unpopular) stance is that churches incorporated as a business, should charge admission fees to defray the cost of holding services ...... Just like any other business. We do not see any reason why they should shelter behind a tax exempt status, while at the ---same time--- levying a --tax--- on their congregation. If they do receive donations, they, like any public corporation, should publish audited statements of accounts to their congregation/shareholders.
The LORD is watching, and He is not mocked.
Ministers that are stealing from the flock beware... you will be cursed twice -- once for falsely prophesying in the LORD's Name (as to what He wants when it comes to giving) , and second, for STEALING from the LORD. Go read Malachi, that text is for priests that steal from the LORD's house. Shudder when you think of your tables being overturned and you being driven from your houses with a whip of cords, just like our LORD did to those Temple money changers who fleeced the worshippers when they came to give their offerings.
The LORD delights to give us everything without asking anything in return.... as evolved Spiritual beings, let us honor Him with our FREE-WILL offerings and works of service!
Hallelujah!