Do You Withhold Blessings?

In many churches I have been a part of, I keep hearing people say, "God is blessing me." That is great and I rejoice with them. I have even heard preachers say that God is blessing our church, which is another reason to rejoice with those who rejoice especially if it is your church.

However, a disturbing thought came one day and that, why do focus on getting blessings without wondering if we are to bless others. We are so self-centered that we think we are the center of God's universe which is not true. Proverbs 3:27 says, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it." If God has blessed you, you are suppose to not withhold it.

If God has blessed you financially, as Randy Alcorn puts it, it is not to increase your standard of living but your standard of giving. If God has blessed you with a talent, you are to glorify Him with your talent and display it for the benefit of others.

Going back to our verse, the Bible says we should not "withhold good from those to whom it is due." A footnote in the ESV says it literally means, "Do not withhold good from its owners." Ray Ortlund wrote, "If you have good you can do for somebody, then legally you own it, but morally they own it...We sin against each other not only by the bad things we do but also by the beautiful things we withhold...Jesus withheld no good thing from you" (Proverbs: Wisdom That Works).

I love what Ortlund said, that Jesus did not withheld no good thing from us. As Jesus not withheld an good thing for us, so should do for others. Whether it is love, honor, a ride, a word of encouragement, your time, or even a little bit of gas. About a couple of years ago, my neighbors were about to put gas in their van but they were to close to the bottom of the tank for the van to start. They asked if we had any gas, now gas near $4.00 at that time, and I said but it is not a lot. I went to get my gas can hoping this will be enough to get the van started so they can fill their tank up. Thankfully it did. I had a blessing and did not withheld it nor did I seek them to repay me.

As Christians, we need to stop asking God to bless us but to ask Him to bless others so we can be a blessing to others. It is a great way to show we love in deed not just word but also it can open the door to share the gospel with someone.