Your 50 Favorite Proverbs: #20 Be Refreshed
Okay, who picked this verse? Because, if we do what the proverb tells us, we will gain weight. Not kidding. That’s what the Scripture says.
(Well. Not precisely what it says. But close enough to give this Big Girl pause!)
The women who chose this as their fave—Carol, Kathy, and Beth—will explain themselves shortly. Meanwhile, we’ll steer clear of our bathroom scales and dive in for some refreshing news.
A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
A generous person… Proverbs 11:25
This may strike fear in the hearts of our more conservative sisters, but the Hebrew word for “generous,” berakah, is also translated “liberal” (AMP). Oh!
Don’t panic. It’s not a political statement. Here, liberal refers to any generous soul who likes to “give freely” (ERV). Someone who “blesses others” (CJB), and looks for opportunities to do so with joy and abandon.
Carol picked this verse because, “My mom always taught me to have a servant’s heart, to be giving.” Jesus teaches us the same: “Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward” (Mark 9:41).
Hmm. So, when we bless others, we benefit too?
…will prosper; Proverbs 11:25
Those who are generous will be “rewarded” (CEV) and “enriched” (ESV), and will “profit” (ERV) from their giving. In fact, they will be “made rich” (NKJV).
As rich as buttermilk, apparently, because the Hebrew word, dashen, literally means, “to grow fat.” Horrors!
I’m not making this up. At least nine Bible translations very plainly state that when we bless others, we’ll be “made fat.”
True, fat isn’t always a bad word in Scripture. Like when “the lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows” (Genesis 41:20), which were “well-fed” (GW), decidedly more “healthy” (ERV), and beautifully “sleek” (NIV). In that context, being fat was a good thing.
It’s really about being abundantly blessed, about getting filled up. Jesus assures His followers, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap” (Luke 6:38).
So, should we give to get something? Not for a second.
We give because His love compels us to.
We give because we can. We give because He gave first.
Whenever God sees a generous soul who is full of mercy and empty of self, He makes certain the one “who gives much will have much” (NLV).
Kathy, who also chose this verse, wrote, “I find that when I pray for others, and reach out to help others, I am blessed. It truly is better to give than receive, for in giving we receive even more than we could have asked for.”
