PROVERBS 21: GENEROSITY AND JOY

The Bible has much to say about greed and the greedy person. Greedy people focus on getting, but righteous people focus on giving. Jesus says, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15 NIV).

Anyone can fall prey to the spirit of greed, and we should guard against it. One of the best ways I know to avoid it is to be an aggressive giver. When we give cheerfully, God always gives more back than we gave away. But when we are stingy and greedy, we neither prosper nor experience joy and enjoyment of life.

It may be difficult for a greedy person to give, but generosity is the only antidote to greed. When we get something, we only get a thing that is fleeting and temporary. But when we give, we gain the joy of making someone else happy and we please the Lord.

The early church had great power, but they were also constantly involved in meeting one another’s needs (Acts 2:43-45). They shared all things in common, so one person’s abundance was the answer to another’s lack. When you see a need, do you pray about it or do something about it? Once God told me to stop praying for Him to meet needs that I could easily meet myself but simply didn’t want to. This is a sobering thought and one we should seriously ponder.

I strongly believe that being a generous giver is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. It prevents us from being self-focused and self-centered, and it causes others to praise God for the provision He has given through a generous person. Generosity and joy go together. Where you see one, you will see the other.