Proverbs 3:27-28. 27Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. 28Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
The proverbs aren’t laws, but they do teach us the wisest ways to live out the laws of God. God’s law in the Old Testament teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Here in Proverbs 3 we learn two of the wisest ways to love your neighbor and two ways to know God in all our ways (3:6).
The first (v.27) is to not withhold what is due to your neighbor. Give without delay. Pay others what you owe them right away. Why? Because to withhold what is owed is both unloving and unjust. Do you remember the story of Jacob in Genesis? His uncle, Laban, withheld both his wife and his wages from him. Trust was broken. A family was divided. Separation was inevitable.
The second (v 28) is to simply give your fellow man something because they need it (not because you owe it to them). It is unloving to say go and come again tomorrow when you could give them what they need right now. Never put off being kind to others. If your neighbor (and everyone is your neighbor) has a need, you should meet that need right away. You may recall that Jacob could not do this for his brother Esau. In his selfishness, Jacob withheld the stew from his hungry brother exposing Esau’s weakness and using it against him. And you know the rest of the story. More lies, more deception, more anger, more separation.
For sure, this kind of generosity and giving is about much more than just keeping an external law. It is about living from Jesus in us. Jesus, the greatest giver in history who has never withheld anything from us that we need. Jesus, who never puts off showing us kindness, never says, Come again tomorrow. Jesus, who never turns his neighbor (us) away. The love of Jesus in us compels us to live this way, knowing God through giving to others in need and giving swiftly to those that we owe.
James, the brother of Jesus, describes his love in us this same way:
James 2:15-16. 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
John, the disciple of Jesus describes it this way:
1 John 3:16-18. 16By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
As we remember that we have everything we could ever need and more, it becomes easier and easier to give everything away. Truly in Christ, we have everything we need to live this life of faith. Faith with proving works. Faith with compassion. Faith that allows Christ to be on display in our acts of self-giving. Faith that demonstrates that to live is Christ.
You: In what ways, if any, do you withhold kindness?
You in Christ: How does knowing that you have everything in Christ allow you to forsake withholding from others?
Christ in you: Is there a simple way you can help someone in the next 24 hours? Don’t put it off.
Pray: Father, help me to never withhold kindness to those around me. Compel me by your indwelling love to give swiftly and fully to those I owe and even to those who are simply in need. Amen.
To Live is Christ 