Session 9: Giving
Read Proverbs 14:21, 31; 19:6, 17; 21:13
“The poor you have with you always.” Jesus said on one occasion. And with the poor, and helping others, come difficult questions for all who view them with compassion: How can I meet their needs with my limited resources? How do I choose who to help and who to pass by? How do I balance the needs of the poor with the requests for help from my children, my aged parents or my extended family? Think of the many appeals you receive for help in person, in the mail, on TV and the internet, they frequently show people in dire physical need. What do you think of when you see these kinds of appeals? What makes you immediately dismiss an appeal for help?
This session can guide us through the moral conflicts we encounter when confronted with the material needs of others. Hopefully, it will help us to consider our own folly in striving to amass material wealth beyond our own needs. Our prosperity may result in our giving rather than our getting. What a novel thought!
1. Is Proverbs 14:21 referring to all the needy in the world, or is it referring to a smaller group?
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2. What needy people do you know who fall into that category?
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3. In 14:31, whose Maker is shown contempt by oppression?
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4. Whose Maker is honored by kindness?
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5. If you are generous and consequently attract a lot of “friends”, how can you avoid the problem described in 19:6?
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6. Are the “friends” who flock around a generous giver always a problem?
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7. In 19:17, a motive is implied that is seldom mentioned. What is it and is it an appropriate motive?
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8. Why do you think people are uncomfortable with that kind of motive for giving?
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9. Suppose you receive in the mail a request to help feed hungry orphans in some foreign place and you throw this appeal in the trash. Is your action going to call down on you the calamity mentioned in 21:13?
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10. As a result of this study how can your giving to the poor reflect the wisdom of these proverbs?
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How does your benevolence to the poor show honor to God? Are there attitude adjustments you need to make?