01/11/2023
You Don't Have To Be Rich To Be Generous
DEVOTIONAL & MEDITATIONAL NOTES
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Dear friends, welcome to the New Month of November, 2023. It is another chance and opportunity to begin life anew. You need to appreciate how God has been generous to us to allow us see this very day that we have never seen before and will never see again. Indeed, God has been good to us better than we have ever been to ourselves as humans. In fact, you don't have to be rich to be generous. All you need is a heart of gratitude, understanding and one that is willing to serve others with what God has blessed you with. For sharing is caring because you love God through loving others. Jesus Christ commended a poor woman who had given a penny in the offering plate. He said she had given more than all who had given much more than she did because she had given all that she had. It is imperative therefore to understand that it is wisdom to be open handed and generous because God, the source of resources can put more into open hands than closed fists. The most generous people are the happiest people on earth; whereas the most selfish people are the most miserable. Whether you have given generously financially; contributed through your expertise from your unique giftedness; opened your home to the less fortunate in your community; and/or offered spiritual, emotional, mental and physical support to refresh others you will end up being refreshed yourself. King Solomon, even though rich understood the principle of generosity because he acted in wisdom and God, the source of resources, blessed him the more. Therefore, among his proverbial wise sayings there is one that says that a generous person will prosper and whosoever refreshes others will be refreshed. So, how can you practice generosity today in this warped and crooked generation that is stingy and selfish? You can be generous with whatever resources you have; time; and/or encouragement because you know from wisdom that in the process God will refresh you. Now here are some proverbial wise sayings that King Solomon shared for your benefit concerning being generous to refresh others, "Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves. 18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. 19 Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death. 20 The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless. 21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free. 22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. 23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath. 24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. 26 People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell. 27 Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it. 28 Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. 29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives. 31 If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner" (Proverbs 11:17-31, NIV). Amen!
