GENEROUS HEARTS ARE BLESSED (2)

“The GENEROUS SOUL shall be made RICH, and he who waters will also be WATERED himself” – Proverbs 11:25

GENEROUS HEARTS are BLESSED with Increase, riches, and unfailing watering: “There is one who scatters, yet INCREASES more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The GENEROUS SOUL shall be made RICH, and he who waters will also be WATERED himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, but BLESSING will be on the head of him who sells it” (Pro.11:24-26). God, by these scriptures, is not simply calling us to be generous; He tells us why we should cultivate a heart-attitude and embrace a posture of generosity. The promise that accompanies the generous life is that it grows, expands, and becomes more and more beautiful. First, the generous are enriched; as they give, they also receive. Those who are generous rarely lack. Secondly, the generous are “watered.” Large-hearted people are surrounded by people who pour into them. What they give to others return to them (Lk.6:38).

Our meditation text is an axiom of wisdom from the wisest and richest King that ever lived. Solomon compared two men. One scatters his seeds by giving it to godly causes, and he increases in prosperity. Though he is giving money away, his accounts keep growing. The other man hoards and protects his assets by not giving when he should or as much as he should, and he gets poorer and poorer. Fools scorn God’s wisdom. They wonder: How can one give away funds and increase assets? Solomon taught elsewhere: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you shall find it after many days…In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good” (Ecc.11:1-6).

Paul wrote to stir up generous hearts in the Believers: “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his HEART, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2Cor.9:6-7). This reveals the two conditions for God’s rich blessings on giving: We must give generously and cheerfully! God will be stingy to the stingy. To the generous and liberal, He will be the same: “But a generous man devices generous things, and by generosity he shall stand” (Isa.32:8). Our good and generous God will ensure a divine recompense for the righteous person who gives cheerfully and wisely.

Generosity is the quality of being kind, understanding, and unselfish. A genuinely generous heart is anchored in the Love of God. He pours His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, enabling us to be truly generous (Rom.5:5). We live daily in the reality of God’s unquantifiable  Generosity. We live in a world that is dripping with His wonders. Nature and humanity are full of His Glory. He holds nothing back: The beauty of the world, the setting of the sun, the colourful bloom of flowers, the breath of life, the laughter of babies, and the embrace of friends. When God calls His people to be generous people, He’s simply calling us to reflect His Nature and Character to His world.

As Believers, the generous heart should permeate every area of our lives; freely we have received and freely we give (Mt.10:8). As we receive God's lavish love, we can freely and generously give to others. Recognizing that God has been generous to us motivated us to be generous to others. We can't give what we don't have. So generosity comes from what is stored up in our hearts including love, gratitude, and joy: “A good man out of the good treasure of his HEART brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil…” (Lk.6:45). God isn’t calling us to be generous only so we can receive; but He does assure us that when we are generous we do receive. We cannot out-give our lavishly generous God! When we are generous, we not only reflect Him, we step into His Blessing.