The meaning of Richer

July 21, 2018

Proverbs 11:24

“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” 

Have you ever put the Proverbs to the test?  In verse 24, God has blessed Jan and me, are we rich, yes in so many ways; love for each other, and love for God and His will, yes the Lord blessed Jan and me in our believing the teaching of Proverbs before we came to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

You may ask in what way, we believed the Proverbs that the borrower would be a slave to the lender, so from the beginning of our marriage when we were under-resourced, we applied that teaching to our desires and wants.  In most of our marriage Jan was a stay at home mom and homemaker, a job she excelled in I must say, and I was in sales.  Once I learned how to sell, I worked very hard and always believed I had to work harder and smarter than all those very talented sales people I worked with.  I set my mind on learning the art of listening and asking questions, and always told the truth to my customer. 

I worked for the same company for over 40 years and never made a lot of money, but we never let our wants and desires keep us from honoring the Scripture.  And I know that God honored us in that we always were able to give a tithe and help as we felt the Lord’s leading.  We also saved at least 20% of every paycheck, and in our early forties were debt free, no house payment, no car payment, and all by the incredible blessing of our Father in heaven we have lived a life we never dreamed we could.  Credit cards are a blessing to those who never pay interest but to many they become a prison, and the instant gratification is long gone, but the high-interest payment is still coming each month.

But the second part of Proverbs 11:24 is more about bondage than greed, but both play into it.  The second part states; “another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”  I believe that some are so indebted to lenders that they live in daily turmoil, which hurts and even destroys marriage, breaks up families and friendships.  I have never given to get, but when one gives I recall these words of Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive."   Jan and I are living proof of what Jesus has stated.

So this is the best the world has to offer, you can have instant gratification, but it comes with a high price, or you can want and wait, and pray and see if the Lord provides without you becoming enslaved to the lender.  Wisdom has shown Jan and I that often when we had the funds to buy the item, we no longer had a desire for it.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice