In Praise of Generosity
Opening Prayer
Lord, Your blessing is upon all who fear You and carry out Your commandments. Help me to remain faithful.
Read Psalm 112
1 Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.
2 Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn will be lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked will see and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his
poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).
According to Psalm 112, those who fear the Lord and delight in his commandments find life and light, security, strength, honor and happiness. Good comes to those who do good; evil comes to those who do evil. However, this truth is not exhaustive. The book of Job, for example, tells us that bad things can happen to good people and that righteousness is no guarantee of success in life. Similarly, other psalms warn us not to rely too heavily on our own righteousness. “There is no one who does good, not even one” (Psa. 14:3; cf. Psa. 143:2). The New Testament, too, sounds the same note of skepticism about human righteousness and its supposed efficacy (Rom. 3:9–12).
Reservations aside, this psalm offers important insights. It is better to live ethically than to live immorally. Generally, goodness begets goodness. Right living brings about a better society, a better world for all involved than does living greedily or selfishly. Overall, it is probably true that moral goodness will do you and others more good than will cruel or uncaring behavior.
Those whom the psalm praises are characterized by qualities elsewhere attributed to God (e.g., Joel 2:13b). They are gracious, merciful and righteous; they are generous and give to others in need. Clearly, a world filled with people who practice such behaviors will be better than a world
overrun by the ruthless and the violent. Psalms like this one make the case for ethical living, especially by the rich and powerful. In our own day, we continue to expect exemplary behavior from rulers, elected officials and people in power. We do not always get it. Most of us think that the world is a better place when we do.
Apply
Try to live more compassionately and more generously for a week. Explore new ways to express care to those in your circle and see what difference it makes.
Closing prayer
Lord, the psalmist says that the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance (6). Anoint me with the oil of Your favor, that it remain upon me all the days of my life.
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