Proverbs 19:17 —Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
When we show kindness to the poor—when we show grace by giving without expectation of return—God views our gift as a loan to Him which He will repay. This is quite amazing, since everything we have is a gracious gift from God in the first place.
1 Corinthians 4:7 asks, “What do you have that you did not receive?” We mistakenly think that what we have is something we deserve because we have earned it. We have a sense of entitlement and think, “This is mine! I worked hard for this.” But who gave us the strength and the intelligence to do whatever we think we did to deserve what we have? Our life is a gift. Our health is a gift. Our creativity, intelligence, personality, ingenuity, and other qualities of our souls are all a gift. And God is the giver.
Jesus said that one day, He will recognize and reward those who did whatever they could for “the least of these brothers of Mine” (Matthew 25:40). Even a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple is noticed by the Lord (Matthew 25:42). The Lord loves kindness because it is a manifestation of His divine nature (Galatians 5:22).
Imagine that a bank gave you money as a gift, not a loan. Then the bank said that if you freely give the money you received to others, the bank will pay you back whatever money you gave away. That would never happen, right? But the Bible says freely we have received from God, so freely we should share and give (Matthew 10:8). And the Lord will pay back whatever grace you have shown!
In His infinite kindness, God has graciously given to us all that we have, so that we can share it with others and be paid back with interest. Don’t be stingy with love, forgiveness, kind words, help, mercy, grace, patience, time, and money. God has given you all these things to bless you and for you to give them as blessings to others.
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