One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

Proverbs 11:24

For Meditation

Chuck Swindoll recalls a woman in West Palm Beach, Florida, who died alone at seventy-one. The coroner’s report showed the cause of death as malnutrition. She weighed fifty pounds at her demise. Investigators said her house was like a veritable pigpen and in disarray. She begged for food at her neighbors’ back doors and got her few clothes from the Salvation Army. Looking at her from the outside, she exhibited a false impression of a penniless recluse. But tucked away among her disheveled belongings were two keys that led officials to two safe deposit boxes at two different local banks. What they found was hard to believe.

They found cash, bonds, and financial securities that totaled over a million dollars! “She was a millionaire who died a victim of starvation in a humble home.”

People have retold this story with varying details, but the essence of it remains the same. Hoarding blinds a man to his possessions. When he needs it, he may not even remember he has it tucked somewhere around, collecting dust. 

Solomon’s skillful pen reminds and instructs us on the blessings of giving and the evils of hoarding.

“One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty” (Prov. 11:24).

The poor woman in the story withheld unduly and spiraled down to abject poverty. We don’t know what took her to that point. But we can safely infer that she did not indulge herself in the joy and blessings of the Lord that comes from giving and sharing what one has – liberally and willingly (2 Cor. 9:11).

People have various reasons for hoarding and not sharing. Some fear tomorrow and what it would bring. Others say that those in need should work hard as they do to make their living. Yet, some hoarders maintain they are not responsible for anybody’s failures. They are quick to quote Galatians 5:7 and 2 Thessalonians 3:10 to support their behavior. 

But God, whose word we quote, has some balancing passages for us all over the sacred scriptures. Like taking care of the poor (Mark14:7), leaving some produce on farms for the poor and the foreigner (Lev. 19:9-10), and looking after orphans and widows in their distress (Jas. 1:27).

The poor, downtrodden, and oppressed are dear to the heart of the Lord and His earthly ministry (Lk.4:18). We give to God when we support the poor (Matt. 25:35-36, 40). When we close our hearts, we close it to Him (Matt. 25:42-43, 45). We become like the rich man in the Lazarus story and make it difficult for us to enter His kingdom (Lk. 18:24). 

Yes, we should not encourage irresponsibility. But we must have a heart for the needy. As Paul says, we must carry each other’s burdens, for that is how we fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). There is balance in God’s word. And He gives us discernment to know what to do in every situation if only we open our hearts to helping the needy.

Let us, therefore, stop hoarding, learn to give freely and liberally; that we can gain even more (Prov. 11:24). That is the heart of God.