Give, And It Shall Be Given To You
Proddatur (LGBT-GR-TYP-BIN)
A Rule For Your Financial Success
‘He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. Proverbs 28:8’
Here is a rule for your financial success. Usury is interest, or the time value of money. Wicked men overcharge interest and take financial advantage of the poor. God will take the assets of such men and give those assets to men that help the poor (Pr 22:16,22-23).
Interest serves an honest purpose as the time value of money. It is the price of having money or assets today and repaying in the future. It is the reward for loaning your money and receiving it back some time later. There is nothing intrinsically wrong or immoral about interest (Deut 23:20; Matt 25:27). It is the cost of capital. It is the price of money.
If your business plan involves the poor, be careful and wise. If you try to take advantage of them, you are wicked and stupid. Because a financial transaction is legal does not make it right. Because a financial transaction is at “market price” does not make it right. There is a God in heaven that measures and weighs all transactions Himself. Beware!
God takes care of the poor, and He will severely judge those who try to take advantage of them. When you see oppression in a province, especially against the poor, there is higher than they (Eccl 5:8). He is a Father of the fatherless and Judge of the widow (Ps 68:5). He hears their cry when you have hurt them financially (Ex 22:25-27). Beware!
The LORD considers your treatment of the poor as treatment of Him (Pr 14:31; 17:5). If you pity the poor and lend to them, He will surely repay you (Pr 19:17). If you neglect the poor, He will neglect you in your time of need (Pr 21:13; 28:27). Good men take care of the poor (Pr 29:7,14; 31:9,20); wicked men abuse the poor (Pr 28:3; 30:14). A man who is generous to the poor will be blessed (Pr 11:24; 22:9; 28:27) and happy (Pr 14:21).
As the proverb warns, the man who takes advantage of the poor may get ahead financially for a moment. But the LORD will take his gain away and give it to the man who has tender regard for the poor. Jesus said, regarding the man who did not wisely use his one talent, “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents” (Matt 25:28). The rich get richer, when they fear the LORD and obey Him.
You have just been given another rule for financial success. Be on the lookout for the poor, and be generous to them. Never think of protecting your assets. Give, and it shall be given to you (Luke 6:38). Give generously, and God will open the windows of heaven for you (Deut 28:12; Isaiah 32:8; Mal 3:8-10). Give fearlessly, and He will providentially take care of you (Eccl 11:1-6). Scatter your money, and it will bring financial increase.
The love of money is the root of all evil (I Tim 6:6-10), and loving it will cause you to take advantage of the poor. The man who fears the Lord instead is ready to distribute his assets and help the poor (I Tim 6:17-19). And this is the evidence of eternal life, which God will never forget but will rather announce to the universe (Matt 25:31-46; Heb 6:10).
The great and glorious God of heaven, Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and whose riches can never be exhausted, has chosen some of the poor in this world as the object of His love and largesse in saving them (I Cor 1:26-31; Jas 2:5). Carefully copy Him and show the same generous spirit (Matt 5:43-48; Jas 2:1-10; I John 3:16-19).
(Source: LGBT/PIB/GR/TYP/BIN/USPA/WN/IAIJ)
