Proverbs 11:24-26 "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. (25) The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. (26) He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it."
These three verses speak to us of a very simple, yet often neglected,
fact. Jesus said it in this manner, "It is more blessed to give than
to receive." (Acts 20:35) For whatever reason, we seem to live in a time
when selfishness prevails. Maybe it is not more prevalent, but we see it
displayed more often. All my life, I've heard people say something like this,
"You have to look out for Number 1, because nobody else will do it for
you." It's a sad time when this is the case. The Lord has shown us many
times that true kingdom living consists of reaching out to help others.
"It is more blessed to give." Wow! Why can't people take hold of this
truth and apply it? "There is that scattereth (gives), and yet
increases." Bill Gaither wrote a song a few years ago that talks about
"giving it away". There is a feeling that cannot be compared to
anything else when we actually lay our own desires to the side and think about
others. Another analogy is the Dead Sea. Why is it considered dead? It only
receives. There is no outlet to that sea. If all we ever think about is,
"What is in it for me?", then we might also become useless to
ourselves and to others. "The liberal soul shall be made fat." The
word, liberal, is not a political term; rather, it speaks of one who takes the
Word of Jesus literally and becomes more of a giver than a receiver. I
want to be one who shares with others rather than one who only thinks of
myself.