“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11 ESV
Reflection: how do you define generosity? Based on that definition, are you generous?
Let’s say you have two children, the first being very wise, hard working and frugal, while the second living for the enjoyment of the moment. Now, if you wanted to give your children each a very generous gift, you can already foresee what will happen. The first child will use it wisely, perhaps invest it into something that will yield long term benefits, while the second child will quickly waste it. And in a way, as a parent you might think twice about giving the second child so much, because they cannot handle the responsibility. But both being your children, can you in all fairness give more to one than the other? And there is a more general thought here, whether we give based who we are, on our own generosity and goodness? Or do we base our giving on who the receiver is, such as a favored child? Or, whether the receiver “deserves” the gift based on some criteria we have?
Jesus described the Father who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45 ESV, which is hard for us to understand – perhaps because we think we “deserve” God’s salvation and blessings more than others?
We might remember from the parable Jesus told of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15:11-32, that it was the second child who asked to have his portion of the inheritance given to him. The father gave it to him, even if he knew full well that the son would just waste it. He gave it not because this son had deserved it, or demonstrated any sort of responsibility. No, he gave half of the inheritance because he was his son. It seems in a way unfair to the other son, the first child, who worked hard, stayed with the father, right? And of course, as predicted, the second son doesn’t take long to waste his portion of the inheritance. But notice now the difference. The second son ends up eating with the pigs, while the first is still with the father, enjoying the blessings of his inheritance, being with his father every day.
In today’s focus verse, we read something interesting about God’s generosity. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11 ESV. Did you notice here that there seems to be a condition, a criteria for receiving “good things”, favor and blessings from God? The psalmist says that God doesn’t hold back good things from “those who walk uprightly.” How can we square that with the story of the prodigal son, who got half the inheritance without “walking upright”?
Let’s first remember that salvation is a gift from God, and completely undeserved, because “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 ESV. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 ESV, and “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV. Like the sons receiving an inheritance, we have a choice what to do with this free gift of salvation. The first son chose to stay with the father, “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” Luke 15:31 ESV. He is talking about the continuous blessing of being with the father, which would be equivalent to those in our psalm “who walk uprightly.” They are able to receive blessings from the Lord on an ongoing basis. So what does that look like?
We read from 1. Corinthians 12 about the gifts of the Spirit who are reserved for those who have the Holy Spirit, who are in the presence of the Father. “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:1-7 ESV.
Our Father God is a generous giver. And in addition to the free gift of salvation, He doesn’t hold anything back from those who desire to walk with Him, according to His will. Which is why the psalmist concluded “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” Psalm 84:10, 12 ESV.