Proverbs 11:25
“A generous person will be prosperous, and one who gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.”
Thoughts from Pastor Stuart
Dive Deeper
Behind the Scenes
This is one of those verses that can so easily be taken out of context. Some would read this and interpret it as “those who are generous will get even more in return.” But the truth is that that isn’t what this verse means, and it isn’t what we see in real life either.
See the problem with this mentality is that a lot of people give of their time, money, or energy, expecting that God is then obligated to return something back to them. We see this view in the idea of karma or the statement “you get what you give”. But what do you do with the idea that bad things happen to good people? What do you do with the idea when what you give is just gone? How do you keep going when you are pouring out and not seeing others pour back into you?
If we take this verse more contextually, we have to slow down and really examine it. First, I want to draw your attention to the relationship between generosity and prosperity. More literally translated this phrase could be read, “The liberal soul will be made fat.” Now, of course this verse isn’t referring to being physically fat, but more the idea of satisfaction. It’s this idea of being content and internally complete, lacking nothing.
See, it’s not about gaining more wealth or possessions. It’s about an internal satisfaction and contentment. But just being generous doesn’t always lead to that. So, that makes me ask the question, where does that contentment come from? Stick a pin in that question… we’ll come back to it in a minute.
The second thing I want to point out is this metaphor of water. Water is life giving, quenching, satisfying, cleansing, and essential. It’s what we need to survive. It’s used for healing, growing, helping, and sustaining. In John 4, Jesus meets a woman at the well and tells her that He has living water that will leave her satisfied and never thirsty again. See, Jesus is the source of that living water. He is the source of what we deeply need and crave.
Make it Real
Now take the truth of Jesus being our source of water and apply it to this verse. This is where we find the answer to the question we asked earlier. See, generosity that is motivated by a selfish give-and-take mentality will always leave us feeling empty because in the end that’s not true generosity. When we give, always expecting something in return, we are masking selfishness behind a façade of generosity.
But when we are generous from the overflow of our relationship with Jesus, not because we will get something, but because we have already been given everything, we will find the answers we are looking for. See, it’s not about giving which leads to getting. It’s just the opposite. It’s about recognizing that we’ve already been given the quenching water of Christ and then giving it to those we serve.
In the fullness of Christ, we find the satisfaction and contentment that we are longing for. We find the life-giving, soul-quenching, and essential truth we need. And from that place, we are perfectly positioned to pour out what we’ve been first given, knowing that Jesus gives the living water that never runs dry.
Crystal Garnett
ACF Digital Discipleship Team Lead
End in Prayer
Lord,
Thank You for giving me everything I need. Thank You for being my source. Please teach me to live in a way that generously pours out that which you have already given me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen