Proverbs 23:6-8
Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. "Eat and Drink!" he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten and waster your pleasant words.
This verse struck my heart strings this morning. I felt conviction... If you ask certain people, I am sure that I could be described as a generous person. I realized this morning that my actions may be generous but my heart is still evil and depraved in many ways. While my actions are doing one thing, my heart is telling another story. I see myself as the calculator, the Pharisee who wants everyone to look up to them for their generous giving...
I had a conversation with Amy last night about giving and what is required of us. We both agreed that we wished it was specifically outlined in the Bible, but at the same time, we both agreed that it is probably better that it is not... When I think of giving, I am reminded of the widow in the Bible who "put in everything she had to live on..." Her actions seem pure there. I want that. I want to understand what it means to put in everything I have to live on and do it with pure intentions.
Somewhere this ties into hospitality. Muslims hugely value hospitality. I want to open my home as they do... never letting a glass get empty... always having something to offer anyone who stops by... and refusing to hoard things to myself including my time (which might be the most difficult thing). I want to give selflessly.
I don't want these verses to be true of me...
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