Owners of Good - Thoughts on Proverbs 3:27, by Pastor Kevin

Owners of Good – Thoughts on Proverbs 3:27

By Pastor Kevin

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Proverbs 3:27

There is a better way to understand this proverb. The Hebrew more literally reads, “do not withhold good from its owners.  We know that Proverbs concerns itself with wisdom and folly. Thus, following this teaching puts on the path to pursuing wisdom.

Ray Ortlund has this to say about this proverb:

…in a culture of life people help each other as much as they can. We cannot do the impossible. We cannot give what we do not have. But when it is in our power to do it, when we have it with us, wisdom says, ‘give it away.’ The grace of Jesus taught the Apostle Paul to say, ‘I am a debtor’ (Romans 1:14). He did not see himself as a demander but a debtor. Nobody owed him a hearing. He won a hearing by loving people the way God loved him—graciously.

The amazing insight of Proverbs 3:27 is that the when there is good to be done the recipient is the legal owner of it while the possessor is the moral owner of the responsibility to give it. It could be as simple as saying “thank you” to someone else. It could be as dramatic as giving sacrificially of your resources to someone who is in need and God wants you to help out (see 1 John 3:17).

This vision not only gives perspective on how intricately connected God envisions his people to be, it also outlines a culture of life that flows from our Creator. Remember, the biblical view of wisdom is surrender to God while folly is the pursuit of autonomy from God. In this vein, to be wise is to be Godly, fully in surrender to the claims God has upon his people so that they will have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

May we be mindful of the good we have and the rightful owners of it. If we feel the nudging of God, may we respond with faith and obedience and boldness.