Don’t see the audio player? Click here.
A survey by The Social Capital Community Benchmark found that giving increases a person’s wealth. Research at the University of Indiana supports these findings. An analysis of the survey found that people who give more get more. Put another way, they did not give more because they were wealthy; they got wealthy because they gave more. Interestingly, what these researchers found is consistent with what we read in the book of Proverbs, chapter 11, “Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.” “The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Jesus told a story about a man who did not understand this principle. He hoarded his wealth selfishly, and it did him no good. Jesus said a rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, “What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.” Then he said, “I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I will have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very tonight. Then who will get everything you worked for.’ Jesus then said, “A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
