Today on our journey through Proverbs 31 our virtuous woman has a heart of charity and mercy. We see in previous verses, and others to follow, that this woman goes to great lengths to take care of her family, but verse 20 reveals that she is not selfish. Her love for her family flows over to those around her. She has the heart of a true believer. A heart that sees needs and uses her resources to help others.
Proverbs 31:20 “She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she rachet forth her hands to the needy.”
If you break this verse down, you will understand this is not a casual, “put a dollar in the salvation army bucket at Christmas.” She strethcheth forth her hand indicates much effort. It means to “break apart, disperse, lay open or scatter.” She is not just giving to the lady next door, she is actively reaching out to others. I can see her with open eyes and ears searching for those in need. She fulfills James 1:22. She not only hears the word, she does it.
James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
Her heart of charity and mercy is not just wishful thinking, her religion is real. It is pure and undefiled before God. She finds the orphans and widows and seeks to help them. Because of her diligent work ethics and her selfless attitude, she has enough to give to others.
James 1:27 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
This woman could have easily held onto all the riches she had, maybe giving a little here and there, but she chose to give, and looked for ways to give. Proverbs 11:24-27 teaches us that those who gives or “scatters” what they have will be blessed. What they have will increase, but those who are selfish and disobedient will suffer poverty. We will all reap what we sow.
Proverbs 11:24-27 “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.”
God will take care of those who have taken care of the poor. Proverbs 19:17 and 28:27 assures us that God will repay those who take care of those who cannot help themselves. Proverb 28:27 also gives us the other side of the coin. Those who hide their eyes and look away from the needs of others will be cursed.
Proverbs 19:17 “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
Proverbs 28:27 “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.”
I believe in the day in which we live, we need great wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit to know who to give to, and who to withhold from. There are many that have made a very good living begging and preying upon the sympathy of others. They are not poverty stricken, they are just con artist. I’m sure I have given to a few of those and in that case, I remind myself of Matthew 10:42. If my motives are purely to show the love of Christ God will bless it.
Matthew 10:42 “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”
There are many ways we can be the virtuous giving woman. We are to give to those with needs that God has “put in our face.” Those we see and know that are in dire need. Then, there are those we don’t personally see, but we can help through an organization, Salvation Army, Good Will, etc. I support missionaries. I know the greatest need anyone has is to hear the gospel and respond to the invitation by Jesus to “come to Him.” There is no greater investment than to support the sharing of the gospel to others.
