There was a great visual demonstration that a pastor once shared with me, and it will always stick with me. It has to do with open hands. He said if you have your hands closed, you are unable to receive blessings. You hold on to what you have and deny yourself from receiving what God has for you. Ever since I first heard this, I have carried it with me.
Today’s passage tells us that if we “give freely” that we will “become more wealthy.” We live in a society that says to save everything you have, invest, store up, get more, have more, and that’s how you be more. Culture tries to get us to build up a fortress here on earth. But God tells us otherwise. This passage says that if you are “stingy” you are going to “lose everything.” This isn’t just a scare tactic to get you to tithe more. If you put your energy into storing up here on earth, you will soon find that the moths can eat it all.
You become so much more wealthy if you freely give, recognizing that nothing is yours. I recently heard a response from a pastor that speaks volumes. His daughter said her day was going badly. He reminded her that it wasn’t “her” day. It was God’s day. Each day is God’s day and He gives it to us as a gift. The same goes with everything else. He gives it all to us. So give freely and see just how wealthy you will be for living life with open hands.
“Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.” – Proverbs 11:24 [NLT]
Tania Gutekunst 