Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 19:17

by David Chadwick

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”

Proverbs 19:17

Generosity is a mark of a follower of Christ. It shows a surrendered life and a yielded heart. A generous life is the fruit of someone who fully knows how much he or she has been given by Jesus and, in turn, greatly desires to give his or her life away.

Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord; and he will repay him for his deed.”

I love this proverb! God wants his people to be generous to the poor. To “lend” to them like a bank lends to us for different things that we either want or need. This is a profound truth.

Too often, we separate caring for the poor from the Gospel of Jesus. This separation is what has led to social justice movements where people care for the poor without preaching the Gospel. But according to God’s Word, these two demonstrations are inextricably connected. Effective ministries to the poor must be Gospel-centered and Christ-exalting.

Lending to the poor, which is lending to the Lord, brings about a repayment from the Lord. He always brings back a large return to whatever we give away. God is a God of abundance. He has more than enough to meet our every need. He can do exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Too often, we put God in a box. Our finite minds try to compute his infinite existence, and, in turn, we can force our carnal, human minds into an understanding of the Lord that is incorrect. His ways and his thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Now, think again about the bank illustration. When the bank lends to us, it expects a return on investment. Interest rates allow the bank to get more and more money to be able to lend out more and more.

When you give and lend to the poor, you should expect God to return a blessing to you. Expect a return on your investment! It’s what today’s proverb says. God will repay you for your deed when you give to the poor!

And your lending will yield a return that is better than any bank in the world. God already owns everything. Everything is his! You're the steward. You manage his assets. And he loves it when his people are generous to the poor.

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 19:16

by David Chadwick

“Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life; he who despises his ways will die.”

Proverbs 19:16

God gives us commands all throughout Scripture to guide us, lead us, and sanctify us. He knew that we needed clear instructions and boundaries in order to rightly live in his world. His commandments were never meant to control us but to offer us true freedom.

Proverbs 19:16 is today’s proverb. It says, “Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life; he who despises his ways will die.”

This is a general life principle: the person who keeps God’s commandments will live a good and worthy life. God has ordained certain principles into his universe that he desires all people to follow. As a general rule, living according to God’s ways leads to experiencing God’s blessing of life. Said another way: We don’t break God’s laws. They break us.

But if we despise God’s ways and live in open rebellion against him, the result is death, both physically and eternally. A selfish life lived on our own inevitably leads to pain, hurt, and agony.

How do you know what God’s commands are? What are his commandments by which he expects us to live? The 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17) are a good place to start! They are a tremendous starting point to find God’s ways and principles. A great discipline would be to memorize the 10 Commandments so that they are always in our hearts.

From there, read God’s Word on a regular basis. It is so important to know his Word and obey it. Obedience brings blessing. Disobedience brings discipline. This principle holds true in our everyday lives, but more importantly, in our relationship with God.

It is also so important to teach these principles and commandments to our children so they, too, can learn how to live faithful and righteous lives for Jesus.

Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). The only way to experience his abundant life is through a yielded life. A life committed to his ways, his truth, and his life! Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

The Gospel is the most powerful force in the world. God created commands and sent Jesus to live them out in a perfect way. Where we would have fallen short, Jesus reigned victorious. He has now given us his Holy Spirit to empower us to model our lives after his and invite others to do the same. What grace! What love! What power!

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 19:15

by David Chadwick

“Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”

Proverbs 19:15

Slothfulness. Defined as the “state or habit of being lazy, indolent, or inactive.” According to the Bible, this behavior casts people into a deep sleep and leaves them hungry.

Did you know that within Christian theology, the historical church actually came up with what is called the “seven deadly sins?” While all sin is horrific in the sight of a holy God, these are historically the worst of the worst sins that can cause the most harm to us and others.

Here is the list of the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and… are you ready for # 7? Sloth! Laziness. A bent toward apathy and a refusal to work.

A lazy person is always too tired to work. Too exhausted to lift a finger. Or has excuses as to why they can’t work. As laziness and slothfulness become more and more severe, poverty becomes inevitable.

God created us to work. His intent was for work to be good and enjoyable. His original design was to invite us to participate with him in creating something, look at it, and say, “Well done!” There’s no better feeling than to have accomplished a hard task.

Hard work leads you to feel pride at an accomplishment. God knows that! Paul even said to the Thessalonian Christians, who were sitting around and not working at all, waiting every day for Jesus to return, that if they didn’t work, they wouldn't eat (1 Thessalonians 3:10). Hunger is a great antidote to laziness! If someone gets hungry enough, he or she will work!

My prayer is that those who profess Christ will learn the value of developing a strong work ethic. That we will have a high value for excellence and working hard! We must overcome laziness.

Discipline your body to work hard and train yourself to see accomplishments. Make sure to teach your children, if you have them, the value of hard work. Try giving them an allowance and teaching them about generosity as well.

In all you do, work for God’s glory. Work with all your heart for the Lord, not for man (Colossians 3:23). God is the ultimate boss. Give him your very best.