Proverbs 11:25

Generosity pays! Here is a secret of wisdom, if you believe Jehovah is God of the universe and the Bible is true. If you do not believe, then the proverb is not for you.

Generosity pays! If you are liberal in your giving to the Lord and to the poor, He will pay you back liberally. And He can outgive you more easily than you can say 10 – 2 = 13.

This proverb is closely connected to the one before it, which reads, “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty” (Pr 11:24). Throwing away your money – to the right causes in the name of God – will bring increase. Restraining your giving will reduce you to poverty.

God has been very generous to mankind, and He rewards men that show a similar generosity to others (Pr 19:17; 22:9; 28:27). You can get ahead financially by learning to give generously, for the Lord will abundantly bless you. This is the lesson of the proverb. Of course, such wisdom is too high for any business school or economics class in the world, for they reject the existence of God and His supernatural impact on finances.

God has blessed you, so you should give liberally to the poor, even if they are leaving you (Deut 15:14). God carefully observes your giving and will treat you accordingly. Paul wrote, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (II Cor 9:6). If you are generous, He is able to pour you out an abundant return (Eccl 11:1-6; Is 32:8; Mal 3:10; Luke 6:38).

R. G. LeTourneau (1888-1969) was an inventor with 299 U.S. patents to his credit and the manufacturer of the largest earthmoving equipment on earth. He is best known as the Christian businessman who gave 90% of his income to the Lord, keeping only 10% for himself. He prospered by this arrangement according to the proverb before you. It is impossible to outgive God, who fully sees all gifts, both large and small (Luke 21:1-4).

A strong evidence of a righteous man, a man going to heaven, is his generous spirit in giving to others (Is 58:6-12; I John 3:16-19). Job was such a man. He took gentle and kind care of his servants (Job 29:11-17; 31:13-22). God blessed him greatly. If you take care of those needing financial help, the Lord will take care of you (Ps 41:1-3). Wise men will lay hold of eternal life by purposing to give liberally (Matt 25:31-46; I Tim 6:17-19).

Every time there is an opportunity to give to God, to the poor, or to compensate someone working for you, give more than average, more than normal, more than you would have given without this proverb. Think about church offerings, tips, day laborers, contractors that help you, donations to worthy causes, the poor that need help, workers that need to be encouraged, ministers that labor in the word and doctrine (I Tim 5:17), and others.

Many reason to themselves that they cannot afford to give – they say they will give generously once they get ahead financially – but this is perverse and reverse reasoning. Based on the true law of this proverb, you will not get ahead until after you become a generous giver. If you get ahead before or without generous giving, God is likely judging you with the prosperity of fools (Pr 1:32). Be careful, lest He punish you more severely.

God does not miss or forget your giving (Heb 6:10). He will reward it. The Corinthians eventually became liberal givers, and Paul promised God’s blessing on them for it (II Cor 9:8-11). And there was the further effect of those receiving the charity being very thankful to God for the Corinthians (II Cor 9:12-14), which was not a bad reward either.

Giving must be done cheerfully, for grudging charity does not count (II Cor 9:7). If you know anything of God’s great payment for your redemption, giving cheerfully to others should not be a problem (II Cor 8:9). The more liberal and cheerful your giving, the greater your blessing. What liberal giving will you cheerfully devise today (Is 32:8)?