The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9
“It is a remarkable evidence how little many men realize the things of religion, whatever they pretend; how little they realize that the Scripture is the Word of God, or if it be, that he speaks true; that notwithstanding all the promises made in the Scripture to bounty to the poor, yet they are so backward to this duty, and are so afraid to trust God with a little of their estates. Observation may confirm the same thing which the Word of God teaches on this head. God, in his providence, generally smiles upon and prospers those men who are of a liberal, charitable, bountiful spirit.”
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in Christian Charity or The Duty of Charity to the Poor, Explained and Enforced (1732) section III.V.
Let’s lean into these biblical ideas, that God prospers those who are of a “liberal, charitable, and bountiful” spirit.
The word liberal points the measure of the giving. It suggests that it appears excessive or beyond expected amount. The term charitable implies grace. The abundance of our sharing appears as beyond what those around us deserve. And the descriptor bountiful relates to the term bounty. It takes shape as a blessed reward for behavior. So, think of bountiful as a person who living has gained them rich blessing.
Taken together, God smiles upon and prospers those whose bent leans toward sharing excessively and graciously as conduits of divine provision. Do these three terms reflect your generous spirit?