12 The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.16 Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the [d]blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the [e]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut off.23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the Lord is the One [f]who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his [g]descendants begging bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his [h]descendants are a blessing.
This passage reminds me again of what Paul wrote to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 3:18-20), to paraphrase, “God uses the foolish things to make (those who think they are) wise people look silly.” In verse 16, David writes that it is better to have little and live rightly, then to be a rich, evil person. But further on, (vv. 21, 26) David tells us what the righteous do with their money: they are gracious and give generously.
No matter how much you have, God wants you to be generous. Which also means you already have more than you actually need. Either way, be generous with what you have, and watch God provide again and again. But don’t limit your thinking to finances… Sure, God wants us to give financially, and He promises to meet our needs when we do.
Yet that’s not the only thing we have to give, and so we should always be watching for opportunities to give of our time, of our energy, whatever we have. When we are generous, we allow God to work miracles in and through us. So don’t hold on tight, afraid of running out. Offer what you have to God, and let him make it into something incredible.