How tightly do you hold on to money?

This Proverb seems backward, doesn’t it?

The most people think, if you want to have more, you should hold on to what you have. Protect it. Save it. Keep it from slipping away.

That’s how the math works.

Yet Proverbs presents a different picture. One person gives generously and somehow flourishes. Another clings tightly to everything they have and ends up poorer for it.

This isn’t a formula for getting rich. Proverbs is not teaching that if you give away ten dollars, God is obligated to send twenty back. That’s not wisdom; that’s a transaction and that’s the lie of the Prosperity Gospel.

Instead, Proverbs is describing something deeper about the human heart.

Have you ever noticed that generosity and gratitude tend to grow together? People who recognize God’s blessings often become more willing to share them. And people who practice generosity frequently discover a joy that money alone cannot provide.

By contrast, a person can spend their entire life accumulating more and still never feel like they have enough.

There is an old story about the wealthy American industrialist John D. Rockefeller. A reporter once asked him,

“How much money is enough?”

Rockefeller supposedly replied,

“Just a little bit more.”

Whether the story is perfectly accurate or not, it captures something true. The desire for more rarely reaches a finish line. If our hope is in what we possess, there will always be another amount to earn, another purchase to make, another level of security to achieve.

Generosity pushes against that mindset. It reminds us that everything we have is ultimately a gift from God. Our time, abilities, possessions, opportunities, and finances are not things we created from nothing. They have been entrusted to us. We are stewards, not owners.

That changes how we view them.

Instead of asking,

“How much can I keep?”

wisdom begins to ask,

“How can I use what God has given me to bless others?”

Sometimes that blessing is financial. Sometimes it’s hospitality. Sometimes it’s sharing your time with someone who needs encouragement. Sometimes it’s a simple act of kindness that costs little but means much.

The point is not the size of the gift. The point is the posture of the heart.

After all, our God is generous. 

I heard someone on the radio today say,

“I’m sure you can think of a time God saved you when you were on the edge: A check at just the right time or a friend that called when you were in a desperate moment, a time when God stepped in miraculously. Our God is faithful.”

You may be able to think of a time like that and certainly God is faithful, but I think that statement misses something about God’s faithfulness and generosity. Rather than thinking of the (probably) few time God provided when you were on the edge, remember that it’s God’s generosity and provision that keeps you off the edge most of your life.

He gives daily bread, family, work, and countless blessings we often overlook. Most of all, He gave His Son for our salvation. The cross is the greatest act of generosity the world has ever seen.

And as we receive His gifts, we learn to become people who give.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Everything I have comes from You. Forgive me for the times I cling too tightly to Your gifts or trust in them more than I trust in You. Create in me a generous heart that reflects Your goodness. Help me see opportunities to bless others with my time, resources, encouragement, and love. Thank You for the countless gifts You have given me, especially the gift of Your Son. Teach me to receive Your generosity with gratitude and to share it with others.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.