A Giver’s Heart

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

My name is Xochitl Dixon. I'm sharing how God used one of my favorite little friends to encourage me in A Giver's Heart. On our last day in Wisconsin, my friend brought her four-year-old daughter Kinsley to say goodbye.

I don't want you to move, said Kinsley. I hugged her and gave her a canvas hand-painted fan from my collection. When you miss me, use this fan and remember that I love you. Kinsley asked if she could have a different fan, a paper one from my bag.

That one's broken, I said. I want you to have my best fan. I didn't regret giving Kinsley my favorite fan. Seeing her happy made me happier. Later, Kinsley told her mother she was sad because I kept the broken fan. They sent me a brand new fancy purple fan. After giving generously to me, Kinsley felt happy again.

So did I. In a world that promotes self-gratification and self-preservation, we can be tempted to hoard instead of living with giving hearts. However, the Bible says in Proverbs 11 that a person who gives freely gains even more. Our culture defines prosperity as having more and more and more, but the Bible says that a generous person will prosper and whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. God's unlimited and unconditional love and generosity continually recharge us. We can each have a giver's heart and create unending giving cycles because we know God, the giver of all good things, never gets tired of providing abundantly. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Proverbs 11, verses 15 to 25.

1. Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to shake hands and pledge is safe. A kindhearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth. Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves. A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. Truly, the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death. The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

Be sure of this. The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free. Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath. One person gives freely, yet gains even more. Another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper.

Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Please pray. Dear God, thanks for loving us and caring for us. Please help our giving to be motivated by love for you. Help us give as generously as you've given and as you continue giving to us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.