Dr Greg Bahnsen - Proverbs: Proverbs 11:16, 24-26 (The Paradox of Liberality) (Part 44)

Bibles this morning to Proverbs, the 11th chapter. For our reading this morning. Verses 16:24 through 26. Proverbs, the 11th chapter, beginning at the 16th verse and then continuing at verse 24. Hear now God's word. A gracious woman obtaineth honor, and violent men obtain riches. And skip down to verse 24. There is that scattereth and increaseth yet more. And there is that withholdeth what is justly due, but tendeth only to want. The liberal soul shall be made fat. And he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that withholdeth grain, the people shall curse him. But blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. And thus far, the reading of God's word. We need to recognize that there are in the realm of economics, natural truths, natural tendencies, as well as supernatural truths and supernatural tendencies. There is a natural course about finances. In that natural course of finances, what we come to expect, the ordinary way things work in the economic realm, is the more you spend, the less you have. That's one of those things you need to teach your children, adults, they need to get that into their head that when they spend money, then they don't have money to spend after that. You know, we don't have some kind of miraculous well here from which we take our oil, and then it's never having to be replenished. When you use up your money, it's gone. The more you spend, the less you have. There's another natural truth in the realm of economics that we get accustomed to, and that's that in order to make money, in order to enrich yourself, it usually takes money to do it. The rich get richer, as we say. You know, sometimes I have brilliant ideas about products that should be made or services that should be rendered, or ways in which money could be made. And all I lack is the money to finance the idea. Have you ever had that feeling? Whether you actually felt you had some brilliant idea or not, you know, that is the way it works. When someone gets an idea for some service or some product that he wants to sell, thinks is going to be very successful, or often he has to go to the bank and sell the idea to the bank so the bank will finance him. He can get going. It takes money to make money. The rich get richer, therefore, and the poor, it seems like, tend to get poorer. And so we have this natural course in the economic realm when it comes to finances. We have natural truths that we expect. And so the conclusion that we draw normally is that we should be frugal in our expenditures and hold on to as much money as we can get. That seems very sensible. That seems practical. That's what works into the natural course of events. But you see, the supernatural course of events is, as the word itself indicates, above or beyond the natural course of events. Not only do we believe there's a natural expectation in this world, but there's a supernatural expectation as well. As Christians, we believe that. That God is in ultimate control. And God is in complete control of the natural world. The tendencies that we see in the natural world, the statistical averages, the regularities that we see there are all due to God's providential plan of governing things. What we call natural, what we call the expected course of events, what we call the regular course of history, is really God's hand controlling all things. And therefore the natural way in which things tend to happen is not for us, a necessary way for things to happen. It's not an unavoidable way for things to happen. Things can happen contrary to expectation. Things can happen contrary to the natural or regular course of events. And the reason we say that is because we're Christians. We believe in the sovereignty of God. We believe God created all things and controls all things. And therefore. Therefore God can intervene in the natural flow of things. God can intervene in the way things usually happen. Indeed, God can intervene to make things happen contrary to our expectations, to make supernatural things take place. Now, what I'm telling you here is, of course, the foundation theologically of our belief in miracles. We believe that God can raise the dead, that Jesus could walk on water and turn water to wine and heal the sick. That's because God, who is in control of all things, can make things happen contrary to the expectation that we find in the natural world. This is the foundation of our belief in prayer. We believe God controls everything, and that's why we pray to Him. We believe that he can intervene and do things contrary to the way things seem to be going in our experience. It's the foundation of our belief in the atonement. We believe that God is in control of all things. And God will judge the world according to his will. And therefore, contrary to what we see in our natural experience, we can believe in the supernatural grace of God that saves us. This is the foundation of our belief in the consummation. You know, Second Peter chapter three tells us that scoffers believe the world will go on and on. They say, where is the promise of his coming? But we believe the day is coming when Jesus will arrive. And that history, as we now know it will be wrapped up. We're going to enter into a new state of affairs. We really believe that even though if you looked around you, you would find nothing in the natural world or the course of history to suggest that things are going to stop someday. So as Christians, we believe in the supernatural. We believe that the natural course of events is not always and is not necessarily the way things must happen. And so what I want to suggest to you this morning is that there are supernatural realities in the economic world just as much as there are supernatural realities in the physical world. Things that God can make happen contrary to our natural expectations. And even before I talk about those things, I wonder if you believe me before I give you the details. Do you believe God intervenes in the economic realm? Do you believe without knowing it, basically a Marxist view of history? Do you hold to a concept of history that says there's a kind of economic determinism that is pushing history along, an economic determinism that makes things happen the way they do, a determinism that cannot be broken, that's actually tied to the physical nature of the world in which we live? Well, I think every one of us here, we're not Marxists, Dr. Bronson. We don't need that sermon. And I know you're not. You tend, however, I think if you're like me, to be a Marxist under the skin when it comes to your view of history and economics, like there's a cause and effect regularity in the economic realm and that can't be broken. But then we tend to be capitalist when it comes to the use of our money. What I want to get to today is that under the skin problem, that we think that there's this cause and effect, unbreakable realm of economic realities and regularities. And I want to convince you there's a supernatural dimension, there's a supernatural intervention in the realm of economics. And thus we need to understand the paradox of liberality. The paradox of liberality. Everything in our natural experience suggests that if you give money away, you lose. Everything suggests to us that when I write a check to help someone in need, if I write a check to the church to help the church of Jesus Christ or some missionary venture, whatever good cause it may be that I'm going to be losing money, the more I give up, the less I have for myself, the more liberal I am in my contributions, the poorer I'm going to become. Everything suggests that verse 16 of Proverbs 11 says, A gracious woman obtains honor. We've talked about graciousness in women previously and the honor that comes to them, especially when what brings them honor is not just their good looks, but their character, which is right before God. But the second half of this verse says, and violent men obtain riches. That's one of those truths that you have to swallow hard and accept. It is true that aggressive, selfish, indeed violent men tend to get wealthy. The greedy get ahead. That bothered David a great deal. David bemoans that fact in the Psalms. He says, God, where is your justice? What's going on here? And David has to learn some lessons, having a broader perspective in his evaluation of things, so that he looks at the latter end of those violent and greedy men, the unrighteous, who have fattened eyes and seem to be doing so well in this world. So the book of Proverbs is not telling us to have a narrow tunnel vision about this, but it is saying we have to admit the fact violent men tend to be wealthy. And so Christians are tempted to think, if we want to get money, if we want to get ahead, we need to be greedy, we need to be aggressive, we need to be violent people too. Because that's just the way of the world, right? It's a dog eat dog world. Out there outside the stained glass windows of the church, outside the nice fellowship that we enjoy with Christian people out there in the real world. Notice how we tend to think that way. So mistaken out there where real things take place. You got to be tough. You can't give in. You can't be soft and sympathetic. You got to take care of number one. You got to watch out for your own bank account. You can't be too liberal if you expect to get ahead. So verse 24 tells us, though, contrary to the violence of the world and the way people try to get ahead and get money, there is the one who scatters and increases yet more. And there is that withholdeth what is justly due and tends only to want. There's the paradox of liberality to take account of. According to the book of Proverbs, there's the paradox that God supernaturally intervenes in the economic realm in terms of natural expectation and regularities. In this world, naturally speaking, the more you give away of your money, the more the more you deplete your financial account. But supernaturally, supernaturally speaking, the more you give to the needy, the more your account stays full and indeed actually increases. The Bible says, here is one area of life where due to God's promise and God's providence, subtraction tends to be additional. You believe that. I think the only way you can believe that is if you have a heart of faith. You have to have such a large conception of the sovereignty of God and His control in this world and his faithfulness to his promises, that when he says something here that is so contrary to our natural sense, so contrary to our expectation and economic regularities, that we'll believe it and obey it anyway. The paradox of liberality. That's the theme of this morning's message. The paradox is stated quite unashamedly by the writer of this proverb. He says, you must sometimes lose in order to gain. There is that that scattereth. The word scattereth means to give out or to lose something. Sometimes it's used for scattering seed, but it's used in the economic realm more generally. It's not just a farming term. There is the one who loses, who scatters his wealth, who gives things away and yet increases more and more. Now, how can that be? This is not true to economic realities. We tend to think, the more I give up, the less I have. The Bible says, the more you give up to the right causes, the more you have. Subtraction in this case is addition, losing is gaining. And we see this specifically applied in the Psalms to the notion of charity. Look at Psalm 112, which is worth reading in its entirety, I think, this morning, Psalm 112. But pay special attention to verses 3, 5 and 9. Praise ye Jehovah. Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon the earth. The generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endureth forever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness. He is gracious and merciful and righteous. Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth, he shall maintain his cause and judgment, for he shall never be moved. The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah. His heart is established. He shall not be afraid until he see his desire upon his adversaries. He hath dispersed, he scattereth. He hath dispersed. He hath given to the needy. His righteousness endureth forever. His horn shall be exalted with honor. The wicked shall see it and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth and melt away. The desire of the wicked shall perish. Now, this psalm has a broader application that we're talking about. This morning. But notice specifically that it mentions the righteous who lends, who is gracious, who disperses his wealth. That does it say, and he tends then to run out of money. Finally, no, it says, he has more and more wealth and riches are in his house, his horn is exalted. David understood the truth that Solomon, his son, later recorded for us here in the Book of Proverbs. David understood that when you give your money to the right causes, you are not losing, you're gaining. The opposite side of the coin is given in the second half of Proverbs 11:24. That verse begins by saying, there is that scattereth and increaseth yet more. There is the one who loses and yet wins, the one who gives up and yet gains. But the second half says there is that withholdeth what is justly due and tends only to want. The opposite side of the coin is just as real as the one that we've been looking at. The one who withholds what he should give, the one who withholds what is due will tend not to keep his coffers full, but rather tend to be in need, to be in want of things. And as a generalization, if I were writing these things, and of course I don't have the benefit of inspiration, I wouldn't be speaking with the authority of the Holy Spirit. But if I were just to do a scientific study of this, I am sure the conclusion I would draw from what I've seen in my own experience is those who tend, for instance, not to tithe, those who tend to be very stingy when it comes to contributions to people in need tend to be people who are in want. And yet those who tend to be carefree when it comes to riches, those who are willing to tithe, indeed to give a freewill offering above their tithes, those who are generous toward the poor. As a generalization, in the economic realm, these people tend to have what they need. They tend not to be hurting and not to be weighed down with concern about their money. Proverbs is right here. The one who withholds what is due, he tends to want. The want there means not that he wants things, although that's true. What it means is he tends to be in lack of things that he needs that concern him. Now, that said specifically of the miser, if you look at verse 26, you'll see the same kind of disapprobation being applied to a person who calculates his withholding now, not because he's stingy, but because he wants to force Prices up on commodities that are necessary in life. He that withholdeth grain, the people shall curse him. But blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. We run up against the real problem here if we are narrow minded with respect to our biblical principles of economics, because there will be some here in this congregation and elsewhere as well, who will point out, well, Dr. Bonson, we are free market economists. The Bible teaches the right of private property. The Bible teaches you have the right to sell when you want to sell and at the price you want to sell at. And I'll say that's absolutely right. The Bible also teaches that the person who withholds the necessities of life to gouge his neighbors will be hated by his neighbors, will be cursed before God for it. And yet the man who sells when people are in need will be blessed. And so there's two things going on here. One is the question of civil legality. Does the state have the right to intervene and tell you when to sell your grain and at what price? No, it doesn't. But you see, that isn't the end of morality. When you've talked about what the state may do, you haven't covered the whole ground because God has a broader perspective in evaluating us. And by the way, people informally in our society do as well. You may have the right to withhold your grain, but you'll be cursed by people when you make them starve to get more money out of them. And so we have two kinds of withholding being dealt with in this passage this morning. The one, the withholding of the selfish man. The one who says, well, I'm afraid I'm not going to have enough money for all the things I want if I give to those who are in need. And then he tends only to want. Then there's the withholding of the man who's more than just selfish, he's greedy. He wants to actually gouge people. He wants the prices to go up. And so even though they're starving, they need grain. He's going to hold off until they'll pay him top dollar. And the Bible says disapprobation will come upon him as well. Both kinds of men, the selfish and the greedy, come under curse. But look at verse 25 by contrast. The liberal soul shall be made fat. The one who seems to be giving up all of his wealth seems to be so open handed and being bountiful toward others, he's the one who's made fat. And he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He takes care of others. He finds out, lo and behold, he's taken care of. Now, do we really believe that? By the way, this Truth in verse 25 is applied in chapter three of Proverbs to the subject of our contributions to the Lord and to our tithing? Proverbs 3, 9 says, Honor Jehovah with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase, so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall overflow with new wine. You want your barns to be filled up and your vats to be overflowing, then give a lot away. If you honor Jehovah with your increase, if you tithe on what has come to you, if you are free and liberal in your contributions, the Bible says, God takes care of you. These truths are difficult to accept because they go contrary to our natural expectation. They go contrary to what we think we have learned in the economic realm. They go contrary to our own selfishness and our interest, preserving our outward estate, even if it means at the expense of supporting the kingdom of God on earth by our tithes and contributions, or helping those who are in need by making a charitable contribution to them. In Proverbs 19:17, however, we find out why it is we can believe these things. Proverbs 19:17 says, he that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah, and his good deed will repay him again. Here we gain some understanding of why the natural course of economic life is reversed when we are liberal toward the needy. The Bible says it's because your transaction is actually with Jehovah. When you lend to the needy, the Bible says it's as good as lending to God. Now let's think this through for a minute. A needy person comes to you and says, I'm just desperate. I need a loan. Let's say someone's family is not eating, the children don't have shoes. Make it a really terrible scenario. He comes to you and he says, I really need this. Would you please loan it to me? I promise to repay you. And you look at this poor fellow, this fellow Christian, and you say, but you see, the problem is, I know that you're a dropout from school and you don't have many marketable skills. I notice that you're unemployed right now. I know that the market is in a downward turn presently. I'm not real sure you're going to be able to pay back. Now that's what a wise economic manager would have to say. You're a bad risk. But now, what if Jehovah came and said, I'd like a loan. Would you be able to go through that line of reasoning and say, well, I'm not so sure. This is kind of a risky deal. The one who makes all things out of nothing and controls all the course of events in all of history, the one who can work miracles and bring something out of nothing, the one who raises the dead and who will consummate this world in final judgment, is he a bad risk? Do you see what Proverbs is trying to say to you? When you loan, when you show pity and lend to the poor, you're lending to Jehovah. And he's not going to welch. He's not going to let you down. He will pay back, the good deed will be paid back again. Now, mind you, that doesn't mean necessarily you're going to get your money back. It doesn't. It may be that the poor fellow who can't feed his family never is able to finally get the money to give it back to you. But since you lent to Jehovah, he's going to see to it that you're taking care of. You're going to be paid back and paid back bountifully. You believe that? My guess is that we sit here in our nice churchianity setup and we can say these nice things about faith to one another. But when we get to our home and we have to take out our checkbook, and here's this poor fellow that you don't think you're going to get the money back from, we tend to go on a natural expectation. We tend to look at things just outwardly and say, I don't know if I can do this. You see, if you believe these things, you live by faith. You see, I really do think God's active in this world. I think he is involved in the affairs of men. And I think that if I loan to the needy, if I loan to his people who are needy, he's going to back up the loan. And if I don't get the money back, he's going to take care of me anyway. God will see to it that we reap what we sow, and not just for evil, but for good, too. And whether or not we get our money back, a faithful recompense will come from the hand of the Lord. You know, in the New Testament, Jesus said something very similar, didn't he? You Remember in Matthew 25 when he taught that when he returns again, he's going to separate the sheep from the goats. And he says immediately that he will say to the sheep, to those on the right hand, enter into the kingdom prepared for you. And this is because when they had opportunity, they gave him a cup of cold water, and they fed him and they clothed them. And then the righteous will say, but, Lord, when did we see you naked? When did we see you in need of a drink? When did we feed you? When did we come to prison to help you? And he will say to them, inasmuch as you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me. That's a very important truth about economics. And if you live by faith, you believe that. You believe that when you help the needy, it's as good as doing it to the Lord himself. The one who has pity upon the poor lends unto Jehovah, it turns out. Proverbs 21:26 lays out the, I think, basic contrast of personalities between people. Proverbs 21:26 reads, There is that covetous greedily all the day long. But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not. There are two basic kinds of people. The people who all day long are looking to get, and then the people who all day long are looking to give. I know that seems awfully simplistic, and we don't like to be simplistic when it seems like the contrast steps on our own toes. But I'm not going to be a faithful minister of the Gospel this morning if I don't step on your toes. What kind of person are you? Are you a getter, or are you a giver? There is that that coveteth greedily all day long, who wants more and more and more, is always calculating what will be the effect upon him or her. There are people like that. And you know, Christians who are struggling with their sanctification can often be like that. We are getters. We need to learn to be givers who bountifully give to others, who are more concerned in making other people happy and do not with when they are in need. Then Proverbs 22:9 is in the same vein this morning. Proverbs 22. At the ninth verse, we read, he that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he giveth of his bread to the poor. Notice, he giveth of his bread to the poor. Here's a man whose eye is so bountiful that when it comes down to the very staples of life, he'll give up what he has to help someone else. I think it's important that you notice this expression. The man who hath A bountiful eye. I don't know what your translations will have. Literally in the Hebrew it reads, he that hath a good eye. And it's been properly paraphrased here in my translation as he who has the bountiful eye. But you see, in the ancient world, that was an idiom for generosity, to have a good eye. If you. If we had time, we could look up this morning in Matthew 20 at verse 15, at the end of the parable of the man who pays different amounts of. I'm sorry, pays the same amount for a different amount of work from different people. At the end of the day in his vineyard, the Master is criticized because those who worked all day earned this amount and those who worked three hours earned the same amount. And he responds, first of all, which is a point we can learn about economics. Isn't it right that I do with my own what I wish to do? If it's my property, I can do what I want and I can pay what I want to my workers, as long as I don't defraud you. If I promise to pay you for a whole day's work, that amount, and I pay you, then I'm a good person, I've done what is right. But you see, in the same place, Jesus puts in the mouth of the Master these words, he says, if I am willing to be generous, why is your eye evil? The evil eye, you see, is the opposite of the good eye. The evil eye is the stingy eye. The evil eye is. The one that doesn't want to give willingly is the selfish eye. So here Proverbs says, if you understand this idiom now at Proverbs 22, 9. He that hath a good eye, that is the one who is not stingy, the one who is generous, the one who is bountiful, he shall be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor. I think we sometimes think that we can't afford to be generous to those in need. Haven't you ever said that I just can't afford to help. I can't. But such reasoning is short sighted according to the Bible, because such reasoning forgets that all of our affairs are under the hand of God. God is the one who gives us our bounty, and God will bless our bountifulness to others. Turn to Deuteronomy 15, 9, 10, you'll see a direct application of that truth. Deuteronomy 15 at verses 9 and 10. Here we read in the law of Moses, beware that there be not a base thought in thy Heart saying, the seventh year, the year of release, is at hand. And thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nothing. And he cry unto Jehovah against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Before I read verse 10, let me just tell you the setting. The Bible says that when a poor person comes to you and wants a loan, you should loan freely to him. And if he can't pay it back by the seventh year, the sabbatical year of release, then it's to be cancelled. And now what the Bible envisions here is a person who says, the seventh year, the sabbatical year is coming up. Let's say, sake of illustration, that 1988 is a sabbatical year and it's 1987. And you come to me and you want to borrow some money to help feed your family. And I say to myself, but the problem is this guy has less than 12 months to pay, and in the seventh year I have to release him from it, and so I'm not going to give it to him. The Bible says you have an evil eye. You have a stingy eye toward your neighbor because you're afraid you won't get paid back. Look at verse 10. Though thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him. Because that for this thing Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto. If we are really to be economically wise in the sixth year, we'd say, hey, come borrow from me. I want to give you this. Because God is going to bless me in the seventh year if I do that. You see, that would go contrary to our natural expectation. It would go contrary to our disposition and everything we've learned in the world. We say, this guy's only got 12 months to pay. I can't do it. The Bible says, give it to him freely. God will take care of you. God will bless you. Believe that the supernatural intervenes in the economic realm. Now, one more verse from Proverbs before we finish this morning. Proverbs 28:27. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack, but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. It's not only more blessed to give, this verse tells us it's also more cursed to withhold. We like to put things in the positive way. It's more blessed to give than to receive. It is more blessed to give, that's true. And you will be blessed if you do so. This verse is quite clear about that. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack. On the other hand, we don't like to think about this. He that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. You know, there are always people who tend to be out of the room, always somewhere else or their mind on some other matter. When it comes to giving, the Bible says, many a curse will come to you. You can't avoid the need to show liberality. And so we learn from all these verses in the Book of Proverbs, don't we? We learn from all these wise sayings that liberality is an important Christian virtue. Indeed. Liberality is a sign of supernaturally given wisdom. Liberality is a mark of the man who lives by faith, the mark of a man who believes God is the one who enters into these transactions. God's hand is upon me in all that I do. Liberality is the sign of a man who believes that God blesses even when we can't see how it's going to come. And so let me make a few concluding applications. Three in particular. First of all, I want to speak about liberality and giving to the Lord and then liberality and giving to the needy. Should you be liberal in giving to the Lord? Should you be liberal in your tithes and your contributions to the kingdom of God on Earth? Malachi 3:10 tells us what we've already learned in Proverbs, really, that when we give to the proper causes, when we give to those who are truly in need, and that includes the kingdom of God and its ministries in this earth. God says this. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. I don't know if we believe that. We don't act like we do. God says, prove me. You know, the amazing thing about that is that ordinarily it's a sin to prove God. The law of God says you not put the Lord your God to the test. Don't prove God. God says here, in this case, prove me. Try me. Just see if I mean business here. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that my house will be full. And see if I don't pour out such a blessing on you that you won't have room to hold everything I give you. Do you believe that? Then start living like that. Be liberal in your giving to the Lord's. Causes. Secondly, be liberal in giving to the needy. In 2 Corinthians 9, 6, 11, we see a New Testament confirmation of what we've read in Proverbs 2 Corinthians at the ninth chapter, I'd like to read verses 6 through 11. Paul says, but this I say, he that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly. And he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Let each man do according as he has purposed in his heart, not begrudgingly or of necessity. For God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound unto you, that you, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work. As it is written, he that hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor his righteousness abideth forever. And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality which worketh through us. Thanksgiving to God. The context is Paul is writing to the Corinthians because of their generosity in contributing to starving Christians in Jerusalem at a time of famine. And what he says here, don't you see? The one who supplies seed to the sower, the one who provides bread for his people, he's going to make you increase in all things. He's going to give you just an abundance of bounty if you live in faith, if you believe these things about him. You see, there's an underlying principle here, which is my third point in conclusion, an underlying principle that's at the heart of Christian faith. And that underlying principle is the paradox that in order to gain, one must lose. More generally, there's the spiritual truth. There's this paradox that is to be believed, believed on faith in God's word and in God's work in this world. Jesus put it this way in John 12 he that loveth his life, loses it. He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. The only way to gain life for yourself is to be willing to give away yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, when you understand that truth, when you understand that the only way you can gain life is by losing your life. The only way you can have the blessing of the Lord in you is to be willing to give up everything in you to the Lord. When you understand that paradox, then this truth about economics we've been talking about is just a peripheral application of what is a fundamental and presuppositional understanding of the Christian life we gain by losing. Only by faith can you understand that. And only by faith can you submit to the paradox of God's supernatural intervention in the world. Only by faith can we become people who understand that giving of our lives, of ourselves and of our fortunes giving is really receiving. Let's pray. Lord, we ask this morning that you would take away the shallowness of our professions of faith. We pray you would take away the hypocrisy of our professions of faith. And we pray that you would put in their place genuine, heartfelt, obedient faith that sees that you are in control, that you do intervene in this world and that we have nothing to lose by being liberal with ourselves, with our lives and with our fortunes. Lord, help us to walk by faith, not just to talk about it. Help us to demonstrate that we truly believe that you will intervene, that you will take care of us, that you will bless us in our liberality. And Lord, give us cheerfulness as we are liberal this morning and our contributions. Give us cheerfulness as we give to your cause on earth. We give to your kingdom and church. Give us cheerfulness as we lend to those who are in need and make contribution to the needy. We pray, Father, that you would give us open hearts, indeed, you'd give us more sensitive spirits that we would be willing to find and to help those who are not as well off as we are. Lord, help us to remember that in all this we are engaging in transactions with you and that as we do this to the least of your people, we are doing it to you. Give us faith to live this way that you would receive the glory. And as in all things, we would find that giving ourselves up is a way of finding ourselves in you. For we pray in Jesus name, Amen.