GIVING FROM GOD'S SOURCE
Proverbs 19:6-7 English Standard Version (ESV)
6 Many seek the favor of a generous man,
and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
7 All a poor man's brothers hate him;
how much more do his friends go far from him!
He pursues them with words, but does not have them.
As I read this text it rings so true in me. I see and understand it, and I have lived it. It says many want to be around the person who is generous. I have sought to be in the favor of those who have much to give. We want the favor of the noble who has the power to bless. We want to benefit from what they have to give. We got married partly because of it. Our spouses were handsome, beautiful, loving, kind, caring, motivated, successful maybe, and selfless, and we wanted to be the recipient of all of that. Of course, we saw some of the bad, but ultimately we saw the blessing of being married to this person and we held on tight.
A person who has little or nothing to give, people avoid. If the bad of marrying your spouse greatly outweighed the good...no job, unattractive, mean, lazy...who would have gotten married? Most likely not many...but why? We wouldn't avoid that person or relationship out of hate, but more so because that person not only has nothing to give, but they will eventually need me to give. The "poor man's brothers hate him, and his friends go far"..., because he will expect those close to him to supply his need at some point. When we see the homeless at the gas station waiting by the pump or standing by the door, we already assume what is going to come next.
So what do we do when our relationships go from me getting what I want and need, to me having to supply someone else's need? If we are not careful, we go far away or we distance ourselves physically and/or emotionally. BUT, this is when true love MUST enter the scene. It truly is the only remedy. A love that endures all, believes the best, and seeks not its own. God is the source of this kind of love. And so, when you find yourself running out of supply, and you can't give any more because your supply has been drained...you go back to the original source for more to give!
BUT...I don't believe you simply ask God for more love to give. I think what really needs to happen is you experience more of His love. You get a deeper understanding of how much love He has given you and I. From that place, you can find much love to give!
6 Many seek the favor of a generous man,
and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
7 All a poor man's brothers hate him;
how much more do his friends go far from him!
He pursues them with words, but does not have them.
As I read this text it rings so true in me. I see and understand it, and I have lived it. It says many want to be around the person who is generous. I have sought to be in the favor of those who have much to give. We want the favor of the noble who has the power to bless. We want to benefit from what they have to give. We got married partly because of it. Our spouses were handsome, beautiful, loving, kind, caring, motivated, successful maybe, and selfless, and we wanted to be the recipient of all of that. Of course, we saw some of the bad, but ultimately we saw the blessing of being married to this person and we held on tight.
A person who has little or nothing to give, people avoid. If the bad of marrying your spouse greatly outweighed the good...no job, unattractive, mean, lazy...who would have gotten married? Most likely not many...but why? We wouldn't avoid that person or relationship out of hate, but more so because that person not only has nothing to give, but they will eventually need me to give. The "poor man's brothers hate him, and his friends go far"..., because he will expect those close to him to supply his need at some point. When we see the homeless at the gas station waiting by the pump or standing by the door, we already assume what is going to come next.
So what do we do when our relationships go from me getting what I want and need, to me having to supply someone else's need? If we are not careful, we go far away or we distance ourselves physically and/or emotionally. BUT, this is when true love MUST enter the scene. It truly is the only remedy. A love that endures all, believes the best, and seeks not its own. God is the source of this kind of love. And so, when you find yourself running out of supply, and you can't give any more because your supply has been drained...you go back to the original source for more to give!
BUT...I don't believe you simply ask God for more love to give. I think what really needs to happen is you experience more of His love. You get a deeper understanding of how much love He has given you and I. From that place, you can find much love to give!
by Marc Stern
Posted in Marriage
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