Don’t Withhold It
Proverbs 3:27-28 (ESV) – Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
How often do we know the right thing to do but fail to do it? This isn’t just when it comes to obeying God’s commands. This also happens when we see opportunities to encourage people, help them, or honor someone. When we have the financial or material means to help, we should do it. When we have the status or position to honor someone, we should do it. There are endless examples of where this can play out in our lives.
This is the subject of today’s passage. We read in Proverbs 3:27-28, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it—when you have it with you.”
Christians are not to withhold good from those who have earned it. There are people around us due praise and reward. If the Lord has put you in a position of prominence or power to give reward, you should. It is right to do this. We are not to be the kind of people who tell our neighbors in need, “I hope you get what you need,” if we are the ones that have the things they need. We are to be generous with what God has given us so we can help others.
Too often we have a scarcity mentality. We think giving something to someone else will lead to lack on our end. But in God’s economy, that’s not how things work. The Lord is able to provide you with everything you need and more, especially when we display faithfulness to be generous and provide for others in need.
So the next time you see a chance to praise someone or encourage them, do it.
If you get an opportunity to help someone in need, do it. The Lord not only can provide you with plenty for your own needs, but giving to others what is due them is an act of obedience and honor to the Lord on our part.
The proverb encourages us to be people of action. By doing so, we serve as vessels of the Lord to bless others.
Reflection & Journal:
- Why does this passage teach us to act when we see a need?
- What is scarcity? Why does it plague our hearts?
- When is the last time you fulfilled the message of this passage?
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