GIVING TO GAIN

 

There is one who scatters, yet increases more;

And there is one who withholds more than is right,

But it leads to poverty.  (Proverbs 11:24)

There are many paradoxes in Scripture.  In the precepts of God’s Kingdom, the way to live is to die; if we want to rise up to lead, we must stoop down to serve; if we want to have all things secure in Heaven, we must give up all things to God on earth.  We give to gain!

Such principles are contrary to the natural man’s thinking.  “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  (1 Cor.2:14)  It requires spiritual perception to comprehend these truths.  The world has turned God’s ways upside down, while the Word will turn our thinking right-side up!

This world system has the idea that satisfaction is found in stuff—and the more stuff you can stuff in and stuff away, the more stuffed you will be—and content.  But, that is never the case.  The more you have the more you worry about keeping and no matter how much you have you want more.  The source of true contentment is to place what rightfully belongs to God in His omnipotent hands to be cared for and disbursed according to His omniscient mind—and all guided by His righteous and loving heart!

“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”  (Acts 20:35b)  The greatest gain is not getting, but giving.  That which we selfishly clutch is wasted and gone, but that which we selflessly release is invested and preserved.  In giving, the coin of this temporal realm is exchanged for the currency of the eternal Kingdom.

There is nothing that we have that we have not received from the gracious hand of God through Christ.  “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”  (John 1:16)  We need to acknowledge with Job, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”  (Job 1:21b)  The blessings of the Lord are many, and we deserve none of them.  Should He reach out His hand and say, “Give me that,” it is His right to claim.  Christ commanded, “Freely you have received, freely give.”  (Matt.10:8b)

May God take the gift of life and all it encompasses—that which He has given me—and now may I yield it all back to Him.  I have been given these blessings in order to be a blessing—my time, my talent, my treasure, my testimony, the truth—really all His to share with others.  Thank you, Lord, for the privilege. “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”