August 28, 2018

A generous man will himself be happy

Generosity is interesting. It brings a blessing and happiness to me.

That happiness takes many forms. The greatest is the joy of doing what our Father desires. He says to give and obedience is its own form of blessing.

The focus of generosity should be on the poor. Solomon challenges us to have a mission with our generosity. Here, we have lots of opportunity for sure.

GOD is generous. He is caring and in a good mood. Always.

Jesus has a goal for us. We are to be generous.

A generous man will himself be happy, for he shares his food with the poor. ~King Solomon Proverbs 22:9 (The Message Bible)

In both the Old and New Testaments, we see God’s desire for His children to show compassion to the poor and needy. Jesus said that the poor would always be with us (Matthew 26:11; Mark 14:7). He also said that those who show mercy to the poor, the sick, and the needy are in effect ministering to Him personally (Matthew 25:35–40) and will be rewarded accordingly.

There is no doubt that poverty’s reach is both widespread and devastating. God’s people cannot be indifferent toward those in need, because His expectations for us in regard to taking care of the poor are woven throughout the entirety of Scripture.

For example, look at the Master’s words about the goodness of King Josiah in Jeremiah 22:16: “He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me, declares the MASTER?”
And Moses instructed his people how to treat the poor and needy: “Give generously to [them] and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the MASTER your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to” (Deuteronomy 15:10).
This sentiment is perfectly captured in Proverbs 14:31: “Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

About Michael Wilson

I became a follower of Jesus in 1965. My sweet mother led me to Jesus. I was baptized, entered the fellowship of faith and became a follower of the Way of Jesus. That leads me to the “Jesus Prayer”. Master Jesus the Messiah, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner! And He does have mercy on me. I have been redeemed having shared in the Messiah’s death, burial and resurrection. View all posts by Michael Wilson

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2018 at 8:00 am and tagged with generosity and posted in giving/charity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.