By David ReayMonday 5 May 2014LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Proverbs 23:6-8
6 Don’t eat with people who are stingy;
don’t desire their delicacies.
7 They are always thinking about how much it costs.
“Eat and drink,” they say,but they don’t mean it.
8 You will throw up what little you’ve eaten,
and your compliments will be wasted. (NLT)
It was reported that the oil magnate J Paul Getty had a payphone installed in his opulent mansion for the use of his house guests. Getty had more money than he could possibly need but still wanted to cling to every last cent of it. He was a modern day Scrooge,someone whose attitude to life is “Bah,humbug!”.
The accumulated wealth seems to do no good,serves no purpose other than self-indulgence and a sense of security for its owner. But miserliness isn’t solely the quality of the wealthy. More or less ‘average’ people can have a spirit of poverty about them. They dare not enjoy what life might bring them. They dare not spend any money on themselves or others. They tend to be miserable people who spread their misery around.
As our passage suggests,such people display a very ambiguous generosity. They might offer food or drink or other things but in such a mean and grudging spirit that whatever they offer us doesn’t go down too well. Misers are never great companions!
What a contrast to our God who lavishes his grace on us. He has thrown away the ration book. He delights in us and wants us to delight in him. “Bah,humbug!” is not in his vocabulary.
Blessings
David Reay