One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell. (Proverbs 11:24-26)
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13:3)
This is a difficult topic for me to write about because it’s an area in which I feel guilty. I would love to be able to be more generous, but my circumstances don’t seem to allow it. I don’t want to go into details here, but I just don’t feel at liberty to give to charities and projects I’d like to support. Some might say that I lack trust in God if I am unwilling to give away everything I own, but I haven’t felt led by God to do so. I still feel guilty (and I suspect I know the source of that guilt.) What that means is that I have to find alternate, even sneaky ways to be generous. Ways that don’t cost anything. That’s one of the reasons I love the idea of Square Foot Gardening. If the promise holds true, I should be able to give more food to the food pantry at my church next year than I ever have before, while feeding myself. Picking up garbage costs me the walk I need to take anyway and the price of grocery bags that I need to recycle or reuse anyway. Sharing ideas and information - even investing the time in a debate may be a form of generosity, though I know people who won’t appreciate that.
But I think it will do me good to consider what Scripture says and does not say. First, we need to keep in mind what a proverb is. It does not tell us what “should” happen. It’s not a promise. It’s an observation of reality. Your being generous does not obligate God to give you more. It does not say that the one who gives freely gains even more because he gives freely. This isn’t a passage that tells you to donate your living room furniture to charity and God will send you the new furniture you covet. At the same time, someone who has learned how to use money well tends to gain more to use.
It’s the next phrase that grabs my attention. In fact, it’s one word of the next phrase that shouts at me: unduly. What does it mean to withhold unduly? The first thought that comes to mind is that it is withholding something that is owed. If you work for me, you deserve to receive what I have agreed to pay you. If I have borrowed from you, withholding what I owe you is undue. Of course, there may be circumstances, but I believe I would be obligated to share those circumstances with you and work something out. If I simply didn’t pay you because I didn’t want to, that would be unduly withheld. People like this get a bad name, others are not willing to do business with them, and therefore, they are likely to come to poverty. The other part of this balance that catches my attention is that God’s blessings aren’t on the one who gives everything away, it is on the one who is willing to sell.
But I think it will do me good to consider what Scripture says and does not say. First, we need to keep in mind what a proverb is. It does not tell us what “should” happen. It’s not a promise. It’s an observation of reality. Your being generous does not obligate God to give you more. It does not say that the one who gives freely gains even more because he gives freely. This isn’t a passage that tells you to donate your living room furniture to charity and God will send you the new furniture you covet. At the same time, someone who has learned how to use money well tends to gain more to use.
It’s the next phrase that grabs my attention. In fact, it’s one word of the next phrase that shouts at me: unduly. What does it mean to withhold unduly? The first thought that comes to mind is that it is withholding something that is owed. If you work for me, you deserve to receive what I have agreed to pay you. If I have borrowed from you, withholding what I owe you is undue. Of course, there may be circumstances, but I believe I would be obligated to share those circumstances with you and work something out. If I simply didn’t pay you because I didn’t want to, that would be unduly withheld. People like this get a bad name, others are not willing to do business with them, and therefore, they are likely to come to poverty. The other part of this balance that catches my attention is that God’s blessings aren’t on the one who gives everything away, it is on the one who is willing to sell.
Today’s non-Proverbs passage needs to be considered in this same light. Why do we give? I think it’s important to give to or invest in causes one feels strongly about. It is an investment because one gives with the expectation of a return. It’s not a financial return, necessarily, but it’s a return. I have to say, however; that I have a pet peeve when it comes to giving money, and it fits with the verse from I Corinthians and Jesus’ teachings about giving. I hate “giving” being used to buy status. There are people who make millions of dollars a year, who make what seem to be lavish donations, but they do it as a publicity stunt. “Let me gain popularity by giving away one percent of my income, which, because it is well over half of the annual income of the people watching will earn me their respect, love, and devotion. Just make sure it hits every media outlet that I’m being so generous.” I also know people who can’t wait to tell you what wonderful givers they are. Thirdly, there are people who gain a reputation for “giving” when the thing they’re giving doesn’t cost them a cent. “Yes, I’m giving everyone in the audience a new car!” Well, no, Volkswagon is giving everyone in the audience a new car. You’re using them and the audience for personal gain. If we give, if we even suffer physical hardship as a means for personal advancement or so we can brag about what wonderful people we are, we gain nothing.
This last was brought home to me by an incident described by Shelby Steele in White Blindness. Mr. Steele described being at a party of some sort and meeting a man who expressed his displeasure that Mr. Steele and others did not suitably respect him “after all he had done” for their cause. They did not appropriately appreciate what he did for them. This, to me, is the motivation of most politicians and political activists. Let’s offer, and even give, whatever we need to, as long as we receive power in return and as long as we tie those to whom we give to us irrevocably as our power-base.
This last was brought home to me by an incident described by Shelby Steele in White Blindness. Mr. Steele described being at a party of some sort and meeting a man who expressed his displeasure that Mr. Steele and others did not suitably respect him “after all he had done” for their cause. They did not appropriately appreciate what he did for them. This, to me, is the motivation of most politicians and political activists. Let’s offer, and even give, whatever we need to, as long as we receive power in return and as long as we tie those to whom we give to us irrevocably as our power-base.
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