Posts Tagged: praise to God

“Brimming with Wealth and Generosity”

On June 23, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Hallelujah!

Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God,

Who cherish and relish his commandments,

Their children robust on the earth,

And the homes of the upright—how blessed!

Their houses brim with wealth

And a generosity that never runs dry.

Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people—

God’s grace and mercy and justice!

The good person is generous and lends lavishly;

No shuffling or stumbling around for this one,

But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation.

Unfazed by rumor and gossip,

Heart ready, trusting in God,

Spirit firm, unperturbed,

Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies,

They lavish gifts on the poor—

A generosity that goes on, and on, and on.

An honored life! A beautiful life!

Someone wicked takes one look and rages,

Blusters away but ends up speechless.

There’s nothing to the dreams of the wicked. Nothing.” (Psalm 112, The Message)

There are a lot of good things said about the person who knows God here. They fear and trust God. They cherish his commandments. They are “unfazed by gossip and rumor.”

But I think that the thing that impresses me the most is the generosity of the righteous. That seems to be what the psalmist keys in on as well. Have you ever known a generous person? I have.

My wife comes immediately to mind. She is one of the most kind-hearted, generous people I’ve ever known. She doesn’t simply respond generously when she is asked. She proactively sees what people need and is already there when they arrive.

My mom and dad were generous, each in their own way. I have seen my dad repair a piece of equipment for a farmer, and then not charge them enough to cover the cost of the welding rod he used. When I asked him why, he said, “That man only has a few tillable acres. I couldn’t, in good conscience, charge him more.”

My mom was generous with her material things, even though she had very little. But just as importantly, she was generous with her time, with her listening, with her fun-loving nature, with her encouragement.

Oh, I’ve known so many people like this over the years: parishioners, when I was a pastor, fellow recovering addicts. The list goes on and on.

But here is my question to myself and to you: Am I—are we—going to be generous today? Psalm 112 is filled with praise to the God who is generous. It is also filled with challenge for us to be generous. Maybe we need to combine these things. As we praise our generous God, we may find ourselves empowered for increasing generosity ourselves.

Have a generous day!

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