In step

[RiverOL]

The first pillar of wisdom

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 3:1-18

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding '" (v.5)

We turn now to consider the first of the seven pillars on which I believe that wisdom is built - trust. The theme of trust is everywhere in Proverbs; it punctuates almost every passage. The word "trust" itself occurs quite often, the frequency varying according to the translation you read (in the King James Version, for example, "trust" appears ten times) and its synonyms, such as "lean," "acknowledge," "depend," are found scattered through the book.

According to Rabbi Bar Kappa, the verse before us today is the pivot around which all the essential principles of Judaism revolve. He claims that these words summarize the teaching of the whole Old Testament and give a clear focus to the fact that the wise are those who trust God and follow His directions for living. But what exactly is "trust"? How important is it to daily living? Why do the word and its synonyms occur so many times, not only in Proverbs but in other parts of Scripture as well? The dictionary defines trust as "a firm belief in the reliability, honesty, veracity, justice and strength of a person or thing."

Basically "trust" is confidence that what we believe about a person or thing is true. We tend to think of trust as a spiritual quality, but actually it is an essential posture of life for everyone. It would be very difficult to get through a single day without the exercise of trust. All government, all economics, all institutions, all marriages, all relationships between people, are fundamentally governed by trust. We cannot relate well to God or others unless the capacity to trust is present within us.

Prayer:
Father, I see that trust is an essential thread that runs through the whole of living. Teach me that art of trusting, for an art it is. Help me to relax and maintain a complete confidence in You - hour by hour and day by day. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Trust is good for us

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 14:14-26

"A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." (v.15)

We saw yesterday that all relationships, both human and divine, are fun-damentally governed by trust. Without trust, society would deteriorate into paranoia - the feeling that everyone is out to get you. Mental health specialists see an inability to trust as a symptom of emotional illness.

Erik Erikson, a famous psychiatrist, says that the capacity to trust is the foundation of good emotional health, and conditions such as chronic anxiety, high nervousness or paranoia could be caused by an inability to trust. Although people may let us down and betray our trust, we must be careful that we do not allow those experiences to lead us to the conclusion that everyone we meet is a conspirator.

On the other hand, you will no doubt have come across the expression "a trusting fool" - a phrase used to describe the person who is unable to discern the diabolical schemes that might be hatched up to exploit him. Erikson also says: "Unless we have a balanced approach to life - a basic trust together with a certain degree of caution - then we will never achieve emotional maturity or wholeness." Note his words carefully - "a balanced approach to life."

Therein lies the secret. We must learn how to trust while at the same time exercising a certain amount of caution. Our text tells us that "a simple man believes anything," but that does not mean we should go to the other extreme and believe that everything people tell us is a downright lie or fabrication. Truth is a narrow column and we must watch that we do not lose our balance and fall off.

Prayer:
O Father, help me to be a balanced person - one who stands on the narrow column of truth without falling off into one extreme or the other. Remind me that error is often truth taken to an extreme. Keep me in the truth. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

A snake in the grass

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 16:10-20

"' blessed is he who trusts in the Lord." (v.20)

Why does the Bible put before us the idea of caution? The simple answer is because we live in a fallen world. God made the first human pair perfect in every way and put them in a beautiful garden called "Paradise." They trusted Him for everything they needed and not once did He let them down. Unfortunately, however, there was a "snake in the grass" who hatched up a plot to which they succumbed and so they were brought down to ruin.

Their downfall, in turn, plunged the whole human race into chaos. Because of the Fall, life is beset with problems, especially in the matter of trust. I can't rely entirely on nature - sometimes it rains too much or not enough. I can't rely entirely on family or friends - sometimes they won't or can't help or they may help too much. Sin has struck so deeply into human relationships that it would be unwise not to recognize that at times and for a variety of reasons people may let us down.

In one way or another the Fall has played havoc with this matter of trust, but we must be careful that we do not allow the failures of trust we may experience on the human level to affect our view of the Divine. You can put your trust in God without fear of ever being let down. The apostle Peter puts it like this: "' the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame" (1 Peter 2:6). Drop your anchor into the depths of this reassuring and encouraging revelation. Whoever else you may not be able to trust - you can trust Him.

Prayer:
O Father, what encouragement this thought gives me: whoever else I can't trust, I can trust You. I have heard it so many times and read it so many times; now help me take hold of it. In Jesus' Name I Pray. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Why is trust difficult?

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 28:18-28

"He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe." (v.26)

Why is it that some people find it so difficult to trust? Many have said to me: "My problem is I find it so hard to trust." A person who finds it difficult to trust on a human level often finds it difficult to trust on a spiritual level. Trust is a learned response and we begin learning it the moment we arrive in this world.

A newborn child arrives in the world with a good deal of vulnerability and among other things has to learn the art of developing trust. If parents are loving, reliable, predictable and trustworthy the child soon gets the idea: "I can trust these people who are looking after me. They don't always respond the way I would like them to but generally they are there for me when I need them." If, however, there is no reliable and consistent input of love and affection into a child's personality in the early years, if the parents are unconcerned and unpredictable, the child gets the idea: "People are not to be trusted."

And in cases where parents are not just unconcerned, but downright cruel and abusive, the development of a basic trust is hard and difficult; some would say impossible. My experience in counselling shows that people with an inability to trust are usually those who experienced serious deprivation, abuse or cruelty in their early developmental years. This is no reason to despair, however, for in Christ we have a new parent and a new parentage. He enables us to overcome whatever difficulties there may be in our past.

Prayer:
Father, help my focus to be not on what has been, but on what can be, and what will be, when I am rightly related to You. I have grown up physically; now help me grow up spiritually. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

How to forgive

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 30:21-33

"' as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife." (v.33)

If difficulties concerning basic trust on a natural level can hinder our ability to trust at a spiritual level, how do we as Christians overcome this? The first thing we must do is demonstrate a willingness to forgive those who hurt us. "That's hard," you might say. My reply is: "Yes, in the case of those who have been badly let down, it is hard - but not impossible." Here's how you do it. Focus first on how much you have been forgiven.

The key to forgiving others is to enter into a realized awareness of how much God has forgiven you. When people say to me during a counselling session, "My problem is that I can't forgive," I usually respond by saying, "No, that's not your problem. Your problem is that you dont know how much you have been forgiven." It may be difficult for some to see this, especially those who have gone through deep hurt, but nothing others have done to you is as awful as what you have done to God.

If you have difficulty with the last statement, it is because you do not understand the nature of sin. Sin is taking the Creator of the universe and relegating Him to irrelevance; it is saying to the One who made us - "I can run my life on my own terms." Sin is insanity - and you and I have been guilty of that.

Yet in Christ God has forgiven us, pardoned us, and bestowed upon us His royal favor. Having been given such forgiveness, can we, dare we, withhold it from anyone who has betrayed our trust, no matter how horrifying that hurt has been?

Prayer:
Father, Your Word is frank and open - help me to respond to it in the same way. Take from me every biting hesitancy, every fear and apprehension, every refusal to accept responsibility. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

My way - or God's way

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 14:1-13

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (v.12)

The second step we need to take in order to rid ourselves of the things that hinder our ability to trust is the recognition of the fact that, having been let down by others, we have determined in our hearts that we will never trust another person again.

The determination never to trust another person again may be a human reaction, but it is not a Christian one. I have heard many people say, "I can trust God but I can't trust people." But Christianity is all about relating to people.

The essence of reality is passionate, other-centered relationships, as is evidenced by the perfect relationships of the Trinity, in whose image we are made. If we draw back from others because we are afraid of being betrayed, then what we are saying is this: "I can't trust God enough to hold me when others let me down."

Those, therefore, who say, "I can trust God and I can't trust people," are not making sense. It is more honest to say, "I can't trust God and I can't trust people." What we ought to be saying, if we really believe the truths of the New Testament and are willing to give ourselves to them, is this: "I can trust God to hold me when I relate to others, irrespective of whether I am accepted or rejected."

The determination to stay self-protected is evidence that our trust is not what it should be. We must bring this self-protective determination to preserve our own soul before God in an act of repentance, and resolve that no matter how others may treat us, our trust will be confidently placed in Him.

Prayer:
O Father, I must ask myself: Can I trust You enough to hold me when others do not come through for me? The determination to stay safe seems so right, yet it is so wrong. I turn from my way to Your way. Hold me secure. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Is trust idealistic?

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 29:19-27

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." (v.25)

Sometimes someone says to me: "Isn't it idealistic to expect me to be vulnerable to further hurt after I have been let down and betrayed?" My answer is to point them to Jesus. If He can do it, then so can we - providing we depend on His strength and not ours. Our Lord knows better than anyone what it means to be let down and betrayed.

In all the heaped up pain of His passion, few things would have hurt Him more than being betrayed by His disciples. Did our Lord's experience of Peter's denial cause Him to conclude: "Never again will I trust that man"? Come with me to Galilee and let us see. Simon Peter, no doubt feeling disillusioned, returns to his trade as a fisherman, whereupon Jesus pursues him and puts Himself in a position of being hurt once again.

He says to Peter, "Do you love Me?" using the strong Greek word for love - agape. Peter responds, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You," using the weaker Greek word for love - philia (John 21:1516, NKJV). How would you feel, do you think, if you plucked up courage to say to someone who had already let you down.

"Do you love me?" and he or she responded: "Well, I like you." Would you not feel hurt, wounded, perhaps slightly rejected? I think Jesus must have felt most keenly the thrust of Peter's words, yet He did not allow it to deter Him from continuing, even pursuing, the relationship. That's what I mean by vulnerability. That's what I mean by love.


Prayer:
Father, is it possible that You can make me so secure that I, too, am able to be vulnerable in my relationships? I must believe it; I do believe it. Help me to demonstrate it in every relationship I am called by You to pursue. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Yours trustingly

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 11:25-31

"Whoever trusts in his riches will fall '" (v.28)

What have we been saying about the important issue of trust? Trust is an essential ingredient in our relationships - both human and divine. The reason we can demonstrate trust in all our earthly relationships is because we recognize that there is One who is governing our lives.

We can give ourselves to others knowing that even though they let us down He will hold us in His arms and not allow us to be destroyed. Notice carefully what I say here, because many Christians hold God to promises He never made and then get disappointed when He doesn't come through for them. God does not promise to keep us from being hurt in our relationships, but He does promise to keep us from being destroyed.

The more you trust in God, the more effective you will be in your relationships with others. Because your ultimate trust is in God, you will be free from unconscious manipulative techniques and, drawing your security from Him, you can give yourself more freely to others. "Love does not begin," someone has said, "until you expect nothing in return." When your trust is wholly in the Lord, you can love like that.

If you have never done so before, decide now to put in God's hands all the hurts and betrayals of the past. Forgive all those who have let you down. Lift up your head and look into the face of the One who will never betray you. Give Him all your trust. And, I say again, keep in mind that trust is not only an essential posture of life; it is the first step in wisdom. The wise are those who trust.

Prayer:
O God, break down any last barrier that may be hindering me from putting my trust fully in You. I would have the doors of my spirit turn out, not in. Help me begin and end every day by saying, "Yours trustingly." In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Another pillar of wisdom

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 10:9-17

"The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out." (v.9)

We turn now to look at what I consider to be the second pillar of wisdom - integrity. This theme, like trust, is one that is continually emphasised in Proverbs for, as we shall see, no one can be truly successful in life without integrity.

The dictionary defines integrity as: "wholeness, soundness, trustworthiness, uprightness, honesty." You can see at once that there is a moral quantity about integrity and that morality is an essential characteristic of wisdom. One of the mistakes many people make when thinking about wisdom is to confuse it with learning, intelligence, brilliance or cleverness.

How many times do we read in our newspapers of those who have climbed the ladder of success, have been highly educated or have achieved great prominence in the world, only to see them come tumbling down because of some moral indiscretion? Many professional people have a great deal of knowledge but lack wisdom. For example, you see this in the marriage counselor who, in spite of all his credentials, can't hold his own marriage together; in the economist who goes bankrupt playing the stock market; in the preacher who shocks his congregation by running off with a young woman.

Learning, understanding, intelligence and professional training are important - dont hear me demean them - but if we are to be experts in the art of living, as Proverbs sets out to teach us, then we must see that without wisdom the things I have listed don't count for too much. "The simplicity of integrity is the profundity of wisdom," says Paul Larsen. How true! How very true!

Prayer:
O God, give me, in addition to trust, a high degree of integrity. I want not only to trust others but I want them to trust me. You know my need and also my desire. Grant me these facets of wisdom. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

I would rather be right

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 8:1-11

"For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her" (v.11)

We continue with the thought that another aspect of wisdom is integrity. Both the universe and we are alien to untruth and dishonesty. The universe is made for the same thing we are made for - righteousness. Not only the face of the Lord, but the face of the universe, is set against those who try to go some other way.

No scientist can get very far without integrity. If he tampers with the laws that govern the universe, then he comes out looking foolish. He must sit down before the facts of the universe, and if he is to be successful, whatever he does has to be based on a prior commitment to honor and truthfulness. Without integrity, all learning becomes evil. Charles Spurgeon wrote to the then Prime Minister of Britain, William Gladstone, in these words: "You do not know how those of us regard you who feel it a joy to live when a Prime Minister believes in righteousness.

We believe in no man's infallibility but it is restful to be sure of one man's integrity." What makes us so suspicious of politicians, even though politics can be a noble profession, is not that they might make some mistakes, but that sometimes staying in office is more important to them than honor and candor.

Henry Clay, when about to introduce to the American Congress a bill that was heavily weighted in favor of morality, was told, "If you do this, it will kill your chances of becoming president." His reply was, "I would rather be right than be president." I can almost see King Solomon's head nodding in favor of that.

 

[RiverOL]

The worst thing

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 28:18-28

"He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall." (v.18)

We said yesterday that both we and the universe are made for integrity and that both the universe and we are alien to untruth and dishonesty. The whole thrust of the universe which God designed and created is simple, uncomplicated, and built on truth.

There are great mysteries, of course, but no lies. Scientific laws are upheld by truth. Gravity, for example, will not lie; it is as true in one country as it is in another, as reliable in Jerusalem as it is in Japan. It has often been pointed out that the word "evil" is the word "live" spelled backwards. Satan delights to take what God does and try to reverse it - to move life in the opposite way to that in which it was designed to go. Satan is a liar (John 8:44), and lies are always roundabout, complicated and deceiving. The fact that the universe is built on truth can be verified by the simple device known as a "lie detector."

The lie detector test works on the basis that people who tell lies and know they are telling lies become extremely anxious and uncomfortable, and this anxiety is then picked up by the machine. But why does telling a lie make a person anxious? Because we are built for truth, and any departure from it registers on the inside in a way that can be picked up on the outside. A lie detector is not infallible and can sometimes (though not often) be fooled. But what cannot be fooled is the soul of the person who is lying. The worst thing about being a liar is to be the person telling the lie.

Prayer:
Father, help me lay hold of the fact that a lie demeans me, but the truth develops me. I cannot live successfully by a lie any more than I can fling myself out of the window and defy gravity. May I be a person of truth. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Can a lie be justified?

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 19:1-9

"A false witness will not go unpunished and he who pours out lies will perish." (v.9)

Will the universe sustain a lie? Today the Church is being inundated with a philosophy called "situational ethics" which would have us believe that sometimes a lie can be right. I think that is a deadly and diabolical doctrine. A lie is never right - no matter what attempts we might make to justify it. "God is not a man, that he should lie," says the Scripture in Numbers 23:19, and in 1 John 2:21 we read, "' no lie comes from the truth."

God cannot lie and He will never delegate to you the task of lying for Him. When we take dishonesties into our lives we take fire into our lives - here and hereafter: "' all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone" (Rev. 21:8, NKJV). "Situational ethics" proponents come up with all kinds of possible scenarios, such as: "What if someone came to your house to murder a member of your family and asked if that person was in. Would it not be right to lie in those circumstances?" Can you see the thrust of this question? It is the argument, "This is what we ought to do because it makes sense." But once we view sin as an "ought," it is magically turned into something that is "good."

The Bible does not teach that anyone in any situation ought to sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 teaches that because God is faithful, we will never find ourselves in a situation where we must sin, but there will always be a way of escape. God never calls upon us to break one of His laws in order to keep another.

Prayer:
O Father, in a world that seems to be always looking for excuses and exceptions, help me to steer my life by the clear statements of Your revealed will. I dont want to measure up to exceptions; I want to conform to the rules - Your rules. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Two important facts

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 6:12-19

"There are six things the Lord hates ' a false witness who pours out lies '" (vv.16, 19)

We return to the question we raised yesterday: What if someone came to your house to murder a member of your family and asked if that person was in?

Would it not be right to lie in such circumstances? The "situational ethics" people would say "Yes." The Bible, in my opinion, says, "No." Situational ethics is notorious for coming up with hypothetical situations in which a person must sin because that is what ought to be done.

But once we view sin as a "must" and an "ought," we are finished. A Christian view of ethics rejects every constructed situation which the situational ethics people advance because it fails to take into account two important biblical facts. First - God's sovereignty. God will always make a way for His people to avoid sinning. Second - the Holy Spirit's power. The believer is encouraged not to worry about what to say in difficult situations. "At that time you will be given what to say" (Matt. 10:19). Also, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:5). God is not ignorant or stupid.

He did not fail to see that sometimes His laws would seem to contradict one another. He knew full well that there would be occasions when it might seem prudent from a human point of view to violate one of His principles, hence His promise to us in 1 Corinthians 10:13. Those who try to excuse the breaking of any of God's moral laws on the pretext that it feels "right" or seems "good" sow the seeds of disruption in their own inner being. It is not the way of wisdom.

Prayer:
Father, Forgive us that so often we prefer human wisdom to divine wisdom simply because it "feels" right. Help us to trust Your Word even when it runs counter to our own feelings. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Dishonesty is doomed

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 14:1-13

"A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies." (v.5)

We need to fix it as an axiom in our thinking that nobody ever gets away with anything, anywhere, at any time, if that "anything" is dishonest or untrue. The whole history of humanity is a commentary on this. The first lie, uttered by Satan in the Garden of Eden, was this: "You will not surely die" (Gen. 3:4).

And he keeps repeating that well-worn but discredited lie to every man and woman who comes into this world. Something dies the moment you are dishonest or fail to be a person of integrity. Self-respect dies within you. Death begins to eat away at your heart the moment dishonesty comes in. You are not so much punished for your sin. You are punished by sin for sin. In one sense, sin is its own punishment. "Dishonesty puts sand in the machinery of life," says one writer.

I would add: "And honesty and integrity put in oil." We can choose to live with sand, or oil, in our inner mechanism. I cannot say whether or not I would ever lie. I would like to think not - but I am fallible and human. I know this, however: my moral joints will creak if I am dishonest. I am made for integrity and I will not function well without it.

Prayer:
O Father, help me grasp this simple but important fact - I am designed in my inner being for truth and honesty. When I work with truth, I go leaping into life. When I work without it, I limp. Drive this truth deep into my being. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Truth is truth is truth

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 30:1-9

"Keep falsehood and lies far from me '" (v.8)

In today's world integrity is in short supply. I asked a successful businessman: "What would you say is the greatest need in your field of business?" He thought for a moment, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Integrity." I asked him why, and he said, "Almost daily I am faced with dishonesty and duplicity and whenever I confront it people take the view that dishonesty is only a problem when it is found out." It's interesting, however, that those who laugh at dishonesty get deeply upset when they are victims of it.

I caught sight of this statement in one of my grandson's books: "An honest fisherman is a pretty uninteresting person." Another statement said, "There are two things essential if you are to succeed in business - integrity and sagacity. Integrity is keeping your word and sagacity is never giving your word." Is it any wonder that our young people find situational ethics so appealing?

It is only fair to say, though, that despite the present-day trend away from honesty and integrity, there are still millions of people who would not claim to be Christians but nevertheless see it as their task to be honest, upright and decent. May their tribe increase! Christians who lack integrity hinder the progress of the gospel in this world and set the Christian message in a false light.

Determine to be honest in thought and speech and act. Lay this down as a cornerstone of your life, especially you who are young, and begin building from there. Whatever you do, shun like a plague the teachings of the situational ethics people and admit no exceptions. Truth is truth is truth.

Prayer:
O God, You who are the Designer of the Great Design, help me to fit into it, mold my life by it and be fully surrendered to its purposes. If I run from truth, I run from myself, for I am made for truth. Keep me true, dear Lord. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Self-exploratory surgery

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 23:15-25

"Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding." (v.23)

Charles Swindoll tells how many years ago in New York a doctor by the name of Evan O'Neill became convinced that most major operations could be performed while patients were under a local anesthetic, thereby avoiding the risks of general anesthesia.

On February 15th, 1921, he operated on himself and removed his appendix while under a local anesthetic. The operation was a success and it was said that he recovered faster than usually expected of patients who given general anesthesia.

Today I invite you to undertake some self-exploratory surgery of the soul. While fully conscious and fully aware, allow the Holy Spirit to assist you by handing you the only instrument you need for soul surgery - the germ-free scalpel of Scripture. "The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).

This is not just an interesting idea, it is a required command of Scripture: "But let a man examine himself '" (1 Cor. 11:28, NKJV). In God's presence right now, ask yourself: Am I honest? Am I a person of integrity? Can my word be trusted? Remember, only you can do this surgery on your soul - only you.

No one else but you knows the truth about yourself. You can rationalize and twist the facts and no one will know the difference - except you. And remember, too, there can be no wisdom without morality, no expertise in living without truth and honesty. The wise are those who have integrity.

Prayer:
Father, I realize that when truth is not within me there is as much pain as with a diseased appendix. Help me see this tension as Your protest. By Your Word, and through Your Spirit, right now cut away in me all that is untrue and dishonest. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Honeysuckle Christians

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 11:25-31

"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." (v.25)

We come now to what I consider to be a third pillar of wisdom - generosity. This subject, too, is a favorite theme of Proverbs. Today's text tells us that when we move out of ourselves and give to others, we too are refreshed.

An old Welsh proverb says: "The greatest joy in giving is to be the one who gives." We must not take this to mean that we ought to focus on generosity because it brings rewards. Generosity that is exercized simply for the purpose of reward is not generosity.

The reward comes as a by-product of giving. I have heard those who study questions of right and wrong pull today's text to pieces. They say that this (and similar statements found in the Word of God) make Christianity a form of sophisticated selfishness. Christians, they say, give to others because it makes them feel good, not because it is the right way to live. Christianity, they conclude, is an indirect form of selfishness.

Well, we must admit that some Christians might look at things in this way but I imagine they are few and far between. I love the way Charles Harthern, a preacher of a bygone generation, described giving: "Some give like sponges - only when they are squeezed. Some give like Moses' rock - only when they are hit.

True Christians, however, give like the honeysuckle - because they delight to give." That's the secret - giving because one delights to give. The generous hand must comes from a generous heart. If the heart is not generous, then however much the hand gives, there is no true generosity.

Prayer:
Gracious and loving heavenly Father, I ask for the blessing, not only of trust and integrity, but of generosity also. And I ask not just to get a blessing, but to give a blessing. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Divine mathematics

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 11:16-24

"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another with holds unduly, but comes to poverty." (v.24)

What all the passages in Proverbs which talk about generosity are really teaching us is that selfishness short-circuits human happiness and that the route to joy is liberality - liberality with our talents, our treasure and our time. Today's text is, of course, difficult for some to accept because it violates all the rules of mathematics.

How can it be that the more you give away the more you have? It doesnt seem logical! Well, let Lord Bertrand Russell, one of the greatest mathematicians of the century, comment on that: "Mathematics and logic have nothing to do with reality."

David Rivett, a chartered accountant and one of the directors of CWR - Crusade for World Revival - says that since he has been with the organization he has found that God has a quite different arithmetic from what he as an accountant has been used to.

For example - what do five and two make? Seven? Yes, in man's arithmetic, but not in God's. In God's arithmetic five and two make five thousand. How come? Well, five loaves and two fish - the little lunch which a boy once gave to Jesus - was taken by Him and turned into enough food to feed five thousand.

And just to add to the point - twelve baskets of fragments were gathered up after everyone had eaten their fill! Nature, we are told, abhors a vacuum; it is the same in the spiritual realm. Liberality and generosity create a vacuum into which God flows, enabling us to give and to go on giving. I cannot explain it, but I have seen it happen again and again.

Prayer:
O God, You who are always reaching out to me in generosity and love, help me this day to do the same. May You use my generosity to touch the lives of others. For Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

Giving with a warm hand

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 22:1-9

"A generous man will himself be blessed '" (v.9)

Does being a generous person mean you will always have plenty to give away? Not necessarily. This would be a naive interpretation of the principle we are discussing. Certain other texts of Scripture have to be laid against these verses in Proverbs if we are to get a more complete picture of the truth under discussion.

Some Christians cannot be trusted with a lot of money or earthly goods; they just would not know how to manage them. That said, it needs to be noted that you do not have to be rich to be generous. A pauper can give like a prince, providing he or she has the right spirit. An old Jewish saying puts it like this: "The man who gives with a smile gives more than the man who gives with a frown."

It is the spirit of generosity that the Bible focuses on first of all - the spirit that gives, not because it wants to get but because it simply delights to give. Someone has defined generosity as "giving with a warm hand." I like that. Who likes to receive anything from a cold hand? As you know, the opposite of generosity is selfishness, and just as generosity is a facet of wisdom, so selfishness is a facet of foolishness.

A teacher said to a class: "Unselfishness means voluntarily going without something you need. Can anyone give me an example?" A little boy raised his hand and said: "Yes, sometimes I go without a bath even though I need one." We smile, but how many of us do the same thing and turn a truth on its head to take the pressure off ourselves?

Prayer:
O God, help me to be a person who gives "with a warm hand." Melt any coldness and iciness there may be in my spirit and make me a magnanimous and generous person. Fire me with a passion to give. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

 

[RiverOL]

The generous eye

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 28:18-28

"He who gives to the poor will lack nothing '" (v.27)

We continue meditating on the subject of generosity. Not only Proverbs, but the Bible as a whole has a good deal to say on this subject, and one of the most powerful statements is made by Jesus in Matthew 6:22. Here is how Moffatt translates this fascinating and intriguing text: "' if your Eye is generous, the whole of your body will be illumined."

"If your Eye" - that means your whole outlook on life, your whole way of looking at things - is generous, then your whole personality is filled with light.

Jesus was generous toward all - the poor, the meek, the sinful, the unlovely - and His whole personality was full of light. When we are in touch with Jesus, the fount of all wisdom, then He generates that same generosity within us. We begin to see everyone and everything with the same generous eye. It is generosity that is at the heart of all good relationships.

I have visited Sweden and Norway on many occasions and I often used to wonder why it is that the Swedes and the Norwegians have such brotherliness toward each other. They seem to have an unbreakable bond that ties them as one people.

Then I discovered that many years ago, when Norway wanted to break free from Swedish control, the Swedish people responded to this - responded according to the Christian ethos that was behind the then ruling family.

This generosity in giving freedom without war or bitterness created a basic soundness that now flavors all their contacts with one another. The generous eye fills the whole body of relationships with light. Generosity, like love, never fails.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, Your generous eye saw in me things I could never see in myself. Help me this day to lay generosity as the basis of all my dealings with everyone. May your generosity generate generosity in me. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.