Jan. 9
GAINING BY GIVING
"The liberal soul shall be made fat." Prov. 11:25
If I desire to flourish in soul, I must not hoard up my stores, but
must distribute to the poor. To be close and niggardly is the world's
way to prosperity, but it is not God's way, for He saith, "There is
that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth
more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty." Faith's way of gaining
is giving. I must try this again and again; and I may expect that as
much of prosperity as will be good for me will come to me as a
gracious reward for a liberal course of action.
Of course, I may not be sure of growing rich. I shall be fat, but
not too fat. Too great riches might make me as unwieldy as corpulent
persons usually are, and cause me the dyspepsia of worldliness, and
perhaps bring on a fatty degeneration of the heart. No, if I am fat
enough to be healthy, I may well be satisfied; and if the Lord grants
me a competence, I may be thoroughly content.
But there is a mental and spiritual fatness which I would greatly
covet, and these come as the result of generous thoughts toward my
God, His church, and my fellow-men. Let me not stint, lest I starve my
heart. Let me be bountiful, and liberal; for so shall I be like my
Lord. He gave Himself for me: shall I grudge Him anything?