I think what’s interesting is that you have in verse 21 the way that the righteous and the wicked deal with material possessions in this world. The wicked take and don’t give. The righteous give mercifully. And then you see that God responds to the giving of the righteous with more giving God gives them on earth, the material. David is also writing with the idea of God giving the land of Israel as an inheritance to those who are righteous.
The wicked – on the other hand – get nothing. They are stingy and so God is stingy with them. He cuts them off from the land. I can't imagine anything we own (which are gifts from God) belonging to us permanently. We are not of this world; our home is in the Glorious! But, while we are here, God makes sure we are taken care of. God’s people should honor and remember others in their time of need. When we have so much, it is right to give. 2 Corinthians 8:14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
Have you read the account of the widow's mite in Mark 12? Jesus recognized her giving.... she gave ALL she had to give, whereas the rich men gave a "portion". Her gift was more important to the Lord than anything the rich man could give. She is my hero, and after the Lord Himself who gave HIS LIFE for all, THIS woman is the one I try to pattern my method of giving after.
For years I have made it a practice of giving and never expecting a payment back in return. That is when you can lose your testimony; by hounding, demanding, expounding and even telling others what a loser their recipient is because they don't or cannot pay back. I know people who give with stipulations. They are not giving with a HEART TO GIVE, they give because they know it is right to give and usually it is NOT sacrificial giving. They have that formal LEGAL document you must sign. You are going to pay them back or they will sue you, evict you, hurt you. To me, that isn't giving righteously.
Even before Tom and I were married this is how I gave. My finances, possessions, myself - All belong to God and if He puts someone in my path that has a need, I gave. We are both the same way today. Don't get me wrong, we are not foolish with God's blessings. He would expect us to give wisely and not hold back. He has never failed us yet; He is the reason we can give the way we do. Have we been taken advantage of for this mindset, sadly, yes. But it should never stop our giving. We just turn situations like that over to God. And we leave it alone. God is in control folks; He will take care of them and you.
We give to our church/'s in tithing and love offerings. We give to missions, we give to the down and out, and we give because it is biblical. All of these reasons are good reasons to give, remembering we could not give at all if God had not blessed us.
How is your giving? Thanksgiving and the months of November and December are the months that "most" unchurched people traditionally give the most! God will use their finances to support many of His children, including Tom and I, and we are thankful, but there giving cannot be "biblical" because they are not God's children. Our church is thankful for every gift given. Many give to the printing ministry and the need for new equipment and supplies. All good reasons to give. But when you learn that giving is a month by month, week by week, day by day giving, God's way of giving - that's when you will see blessings untold.
Look around you, folks. Start at your church, do you see anything in the way of repairs, maintenance, supplies that is needed? GIVE Then your neighborhood, community full of homeless. Give. Do you sit next to folks in church who just need a helping hand to get through a temporary crisis? Give. Do you see one of your own hurting because of a need? Give. Are you standing in line at the grocery store with a mom putting her formula back for her baby because she can't pay for it? Give. Make it a practice to keep your eyes open for an opportunity to give, and then do it lovingly.
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