24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more;another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. 26 People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell. 27 Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it. Proverbs 11:24-27
“Next, we come to another cluster of proverbs, this time on the topic of generosity. 11:24 appears to be paradoxical — how can giving away wealth increase wealth? — but the paradox is resolved if we remember that the Lord is the source of wealth and the one administering justice (see Matthew 16:25; Luke 6:38). 11:25 is a synthetic proverb, developing further in the second line, the idea mentioned in the first line. What is being commended in these verses is sharing one’s resources with others. Hoarding and selfishness are condemned. 11:26 brings this into a sharp focus. The word ‘sell’ suggests that what is going on here is speculation at the expense of others. Hubbard says, ‘This saying assumes that normal business practices were being suspended for some devious purpose of the seller’. While 11:27 does not specifically mention generosity, similar principles apply in this verse. As Kidner says, ‘What you seek for others, you will get yourself.'”
Tewoldemedhin Habtu in Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars, edited by Tokunboh Adeyemo (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 790.
Generosity is paradoxical. Few texts illustrate this better than this collection of four proverbs. On this Thanksgiving Day in America, I am thankful that we serve a God who administers justice for the the generous and who supplies for them what they seek for others.
Habtu is a biblical scholar who teaches in Nairobi, Kenya. He’s from from Eritrea. I had to look up where to find that country. For GTP it’s in the EPSA (English, Portuguese, and Spanish speaking Africa) region. We had a paradoxical thing happen in that region this month.
A businessman who grasps the paradox in EPSA gave a $10,000 gift in support of the GTP regional campaign that will benefit AfCAA (African Council for Accreditation and Accountability). The goal for the region was $10,000 and he made a gift to cover the entire match.
He heard that if they met the match, an extra $1,000 would also be added to their total. Why mention this? He’s praying others will join him. Find the campaign here to support it if you have a heart for Africa. But I say this because only a person who has learned the paradox would give so generously in pandemic times.
If you have been blessed in this hard season, please pull out the stops and give generously. Do this remembering that we serve a God who administers justice for the the generous and He will enrich the supply of those who empty themeselves in service to others.