Generous People

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 18:16

A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.

I made myself a note to write a devotional on this verse. I started and stopped. Now, I’m back to it. It has some interpretative difficulties. It sounds like it is saying bribery is a net positive. Is that the point? Is this telling us it is good to give to gain access to powerful people?

I wrestled with what this means. Here is my take.

This is one of those instances where we have to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. We don’t have to read far before we find a negative view of buying friends (19:6-7). Therefore, it doesn’t seem like we are intended to take this to mean that we should be using gifts to get what we want from other people.

Instead, this proverb is pointing out a fact of life. Generous people are more likely to find themselves well-received by others. Stingy people find themselves hitting brick walls in relationships.

If you want a visual example, think of Ebenezer Scrooge. We even call miserly, selfish people Scrooges. Who wants to be around someone like that? No one, of course. Remember, Scrooge was a wealthy man. Which fits with the idea of this proverb. It isn’t about having wealth. Yes, if you are wealthy, you will find a lot of people suddenly wanting to be your friend. But wealth alone won’t make you attractive to others in the long run.

It is genuine generosity that attracts others. And that has nothing to do with how large your bank account is. It has to do with how big your heart is.

When I read this verse in this light, I think of other texts like the one that says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” I think most people do too.

Back when I first took a leap of faith and joined Equipping Pastors International and started trying to raise support for that ministry, I had tried to set up an appointment with a businessman that I had a friendship with. After I had made several appointments, all of which he canceled, I met him one morning. He didn’t allow me to say anything. He angrily slammed a check down on his desk, slid it across to me, and said, “This is all I’m going to give you. Don’t ever ask me for anything else.”

I was shocked at his attitude. Let me be clear – it didn’t matter to me whether or not he chose to give. I have several friends who have never given anything to the ministry I’m doing. They are still my friends. It was the spirit in which he approached me. It was the tight-fisted greediness of it. Looking back, I regretted taking the check. I wish I would have handed it back because he clearly didn’t want to give it at all, and that didn’t benefit his spiritual life.

I haven’t had much to do with him since. Not because he doesn’t give to support the ministry, but because I saw a closed fist and not an open hand and heart. Who wants to be around that?

My conclusion is that this is about a generous, giving spirit and how it opens doors and fosters friendships. It is about having an open hand. It isn’t about trickery or underhandness in using money to buy friends. It is about being a giving person. And being a giving person begins with an open heart, not an open checkbook.