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.
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