SCRIPTURE - Deuteronomy 15: 7-11

“If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the lard that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs...Give generously to him and do so without a grumbling heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”

One of the foundational characteristics of our God is that He is amazingly generous. He forgives us, provides blessings we don’t deserve, adopts us as sons and daughters, sent His son to die for our sin and according to Ephesians one, floods our lives with His blessings. 

God desires that same spirit of generosity to characterize our lives. Twice in this passage, God encourages us to be openhanded toward our brothers and sisters who are in need. Just as Jesus held nothing back in caring for us, He desires that we not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward those among us who have a need. God’s heart for the poor and those in need is deep, for His heart is filled with compassion. Our hearts ought to be as well.

This generosity is to be characterized by a joyful generosity rather than a grumbling heart. A spirit of hard-heartedness, tightfistedness, and grudging help is the residual of our life before we knew our Savior. As His followers, we are to transform our attitudes and practices to mirror His heart, His example and His actions toward us. His openhandedness toward us should translate into our openhandedness toward those in need. 

This is a command that includes a blessing. Moses says that the Lord our God will bless us in all of our work and all that we put our hand to as we live out His generosity with others. God blesses those who follow Him and who emulate His heart and generosity. Ironically, the more we bless others, the more we are blessed. That blessing may not always be financial, but it will be blessing that enriches our lives. 

One of the last things we give to God is often our pocketbook because the pull of wealth and security is so very strong. Let me encourage you to test God, for it is in giving that money’s hold on our lives is broken. The tighter we hold onto our wealth, the greater its pull and the less of God’s blessing we experience. God’s generosity to us ought to be the cause of our generosity, which in turn triggers God’s generosity to us in a cycle of blessing. You cannot out give God. Every time we help those in need among us, we mirror both His character and compassion.

Father, Your generous and compassionate heart is why I am one of Your children today. You freely give to me so many blessings. Help me to have Your heart and character as I help those in need. Thank You for the privilege of being Your agent to those who need Your blessings. Amen.