Made to Give

We have been made to give.

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his maker, but he who is generous to the needy honours him. Proverbs 14:31

Did you notice how there are only two options in this proverb? Oppress or be generous. I’ve looked pretty hard for an in-between to appease my conscience, but it’s not to be found (not even behind the comma – I’ve checked). This troubles me. I wouldn’t say I oppress the poor but I also wouldn’t say my giving is generous. This raised a question. Is it possible to passively oppress the poor by inaction and lethargy? This proverb proposes a choice – oppression or generosity.

Scots are known for their inventive genius. The television. The telephone. Whisky. All Scottish inventions and things the world wouldn’t be the same without. One website I came across even attributed the invention of Neptune to a Scot, a tall claim. I haven’t invented anything really spectacular, except for maybe this joke.

What do you call a French girl with Asthma?

LaWheeze

To explore this proverb a little further let’s pretend for a minute that I invented the toaster.

I would be very proud to have invented such a worthwhile machine – bronzing bread for countless people around the globe. So they can happily apply their favourite spread and enjoy a snack, any time of day.

When the toaster does the job I intended it to do – it is a source of honour. It works. It toasts. The world has it’s bread snack to enjoy in all its golden glory and everyone is very grateful.

When the toaster repeatedly burns, slightly discolours or shows favouritism to one side of the piece of bread it is not a good day for moi – as inventor of the toaster. I can hear the collective sound of people rifling through draws for the warranty card (it’s always a bit too late to send them off once the thing has broken). My beloved invention has become a burden, an insult, a stain on my good Scot-inventor name.

I hope you can excuse my foray into parable. The point the proverb writer is trying to make is this. God has made us. He has made us to give. When we do the opposite and oppress the poor we insult our maker and are a source of grief. When we give, when we are generous to the poor, we tune into a purpose that is inbuilt – that was created in us by God – and we give honour to our Maker, just by doing what we were intended to do. Give.

There is an element of our being which wants to help, wants to support, wants to give. When we do this we find a unique happiness.

When Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35), he echoed the words of the proverb writer:

…he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he. Proverbs 14:21 NKJV

When God made us he wanted us to be happy. When God made us he wanted us to give.

14 Mar This entry was published on March 14, 2011 at 11:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.