It is a spiritual truth that if you give, more will be given back to you. A miserly soul wastes away in its own selfishness. But the generous soul thrives in riches as it gives. Now do not get me wrong or misunderstand what I am trying to say. The economy of the Lord does not mean that if you give a dollar, two more dollars will be given to you. How the economy of the Lord works is this: as you bless others, you too will also be blessed.
"There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting or what is justly due, but it tends only to want more." Proverbs 11:24, Amplified
I like the wording that Solomon uses in this verse. In the idea of scattering, one does not know how much he will let go of. The one who scatters reaches into his bag, gets a handful of whatever is there and tosses without thinking of how much is really being let go of. Generosity of the key, however.
But to withhold more than we should only results in our need for more growing. I think the most well known story in the Bible is that of Ananias and Saphira in the the book of Acts. In chapter 5, Ananias and his wife Saphira conspire with each other to sell their property and give it to the church, but to lie about how much they sold it for so they could keep more. In this conspiracy against the Lord and the church, they both died.
"Cast your bread upon the water, for you will find it after many days." (Ecclesiastes 11:1, NKJV) Casting one's bread on the water causes it to be destroyed. I remember having a lunch that I took to a cross-country track meet in Walnut, California. My water bottle had opened and soaked my sandwiches and chips. My lunch was ruined by the water. You throw your bread on the water with the intent of not receiving it back. But the promise of the Lord is that you will find it after many days. It will come back because generosity os always rewarded.
"The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered." Proverbs 11:25, Amplified
This liberal person is not a Democrat. This person is liberal with his possessions. In the second part of the verse, it talks about watering. This is giving of yourself to others. The Lord would never allow us to give and give and give and give of ourselves without ourselves being refreshed. Every lake needs an outlet. With that outlet it also needs and inlet. The two work together in tandem. If the lake were to only have an outlet then it would soon dry up and be on no use to anyone. If the lake (or body of water) were to only have an inlet, it would become stagnant and of no use to anyone like the Dead Sea. So the two are so very important.
"The people will curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it]; but a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it." Proverbs 11:26, Amplified
This is a very important verse for us to have in front of us. Notice that this verse does not speak about giving generously, it speaks about selling generously. There is an important place for the selling of our goods just as there is a place for giving freely. The blessings still exist for the seller and the giver alike. The idea is that we have in our hearts that the Lord will always take care of us when we give or sell out of our abundance; the Lord will always replace what has left our storehouses.
"But I say this: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." (II Corinthians 9:6-7, NKJV)
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