Sow with the Intent to Harvest (Proverbs 22:9)

Generosity is one of the signs that we are one of the children of God.

"He who has a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor." Proverbs 22:9, Amplified

Those who have this "bountiful" eye will be blessed because they realize that what they have really isn't theirs in the first place. Everything that we own comes from the Lord. Paul said it best when he wrote to the Corinthians. "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Sp let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: 'He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.' Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness." (Second Corinthians 9:6-10, NKJV)

As we come the conclusion that nothing we have is our own, we will be able to give of it more freely. The seed that we are provided with comes from the Lord. Whatever that seed may be, it is the obligation of the sower to sow those seeds so that he may reap a harvest.

Giving is a Ministry (Proverbs 19:17)

To give unto others in need is not necessarily giving u what we have. The Lord will always repay.

"He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him." Proverbs 19:17, Amplified

The idea of giving with the intent of receiving back is not what the Bible is trying to portray here. The heart of the giver should never be in the state of wanting back. Paul wrote of giving many different times in his epistles, but in one instance he uses some unusual vernacular. "So let each one give has he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." (Second Corinthians 9:7, NKJV) First focusing on the giving: we have to purpose within ourselves what we give. There is no prescription on what to give, the only stipulation is that when we do give that it not be grudgingly or out of necessity. Our giving should be out of want and desire. Notice too, that there is no mention of money in this verse. There are many different ways that we can give. Now concerning the interesting vernacular. God loves a cheerful giver. The word for cheerful in the Greek is actually "hilarious". God loves an hilarious giver: one who gives extremely generously.

There is another interesting verse in the Bible I want to examine as well. "Cast your bread on the waters, for you will find it after many days." (Ecclesiastes 11:1, NKJV) This verse also speaks of giving, but notice the language. If one was to cast bread upon the water, he would have to do so with the expectation of completely loosing the bread. As bread gets soggy, it is destroyed. But the Bible tells us that if we give without the expectation of receiving back, we will find it after many days. The only way that this could happen is if the Lord was and is involved.

Even Jesus spoke of giving to His disciples. "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison an you came to Me.' then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" (Matthew 25:34-40, NKJV) You see, even Jesus noted different ways in which we could give of ourselves which does not involve money.

Realize, as well, that giving is also a ministry. "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, n that you ministered to the saints, and do minister." (Hebrews 6:10, NKJV)

In the Infamous Words of E.T., "Be Good." (Proverbs 3:27-30)

It is in man's nature to think only of himself, it is a self preservation. If one were to stick his hand in the fire then it would be quickly drawn out because of the pain that the body feels. Selfishness is also in man's nature. This can be observed in any child, it just becomes more masked as the individual grows into adulthood. The idea that Solomon is trying to convey to his son is to be good.

"Withhold not good from those to whom it is due [its rightful owners], when it is in your power of your hand to do it." Proverbs 3:27, Amplified

It is sometimes hard for one to see another receive accolade after accolade. However, we are commanded to give those accolades as well as do any kind of good that is in our power to give. I remember a time that I was in a facility called U-Turn 4 Christ. It is a Christian restoration program for anyone involved in any kind of sin. Every morning we were to wake up and read the Proverbs which corresponded to the day of the month that we were in. On one particular morning, no one got up because no alarm seemed to go off, which in itself is odd. I should say that everyone besides our house leader accidentally slept in. He got up and decided it was best to discipline everyone instead of waking us up. Everyone in the house was late for work, I just so happened to work at the same place as my house leader. Everyone in the house was angry and no one felt that it was right. After work, my house leader came to me and asked for some money for gas money or he would not be able to get to work in the morning. I looked at him and smiled as sinister thoughts ran through my head. "I was late for work and you didn't care." Then the Lord spoke this verse to me. As far as I saw, he did not deserve it, but the Lord did, so I ended up giving him the money. What blessing would I have missed out on if I did not give him the money?

"Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give it, when you have it with you." Proverbs 3:28, Amplified

This is the oldest trick in the book to try and get out of giving. I have done this at different points in my life. I used to think that if they came back tomorrow they would either forget to come back or that they would find someone else to give it to them. The depth of our own self worth runs deeply within the heart of man. Again, if I had this type of attitude with my house leader, what kind of blessing would I have missed out on? "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." (II Corinthians 9:7, NKJV) The word for cheerful that Paul uses in this verse means hilarious. So give hilariously!

"Do not contrive or dig up or cultivate evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly and confidently beside you." Proverbs 3:29, Amplified

I like the Amplified's version of this verse. It makes me think of the heart as a garden. To contrive is a process. It takes time to cultivate evil in the heart. To act out of passion is to act rashly and get caught. If one were to take his time planning, then he would have a better chance at not getting caught. But what is he focusing on? It is certainly not the Lord. Remember, Solomon is speaking to his son, Rehoboam. This is a message for believers, not unbelievers. We have to admit that there are times when thoughts like these enter into our hearts. But the true test is if we entertain the thought. Entertainment of the thought plants the seed, entertainment of the thought cultivates, waters, prunes, nurtures and finally harvests action.

"Contend not with a man for no reason, when he has done you no wrong." Proverbs 3:30, Amplified

In the last part of this section we are encouraged to contend with no man who has done no wrong to us. Remember that the Bible is not gender biased. Husbands need to ask if they are picking fights with their wives for no reason, and wives do the same. Parents are to do the same for children and children for parents. Think of other places as well around your town, like the grocery store. I have seen women fighting over the last box of an item (or even the department store over sale items). I think that what the Lord is trying to coney in this verse is that there are more important things in life than fighting. Prayer is more important than fighting; pray for that person that took the last item that you wanted. It is possible that they needed it more than you.

Go and be good.