Proverbs 11:2424There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. (Proverbs 11:24); Matthew 10:88Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8); Luke 6:3838Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. (Luke 6:38)
If you find yourself getting very miserly, begin to scatter, like a wealthy farmer in New York State I heard of. He was a noted miser, but he was converted. Soon after, a poor man who had been burned out and had no provisions came to him for help. The farmer thought he would be liberal and give the man a ham from his smoke-house. On his way to get it, the tempter whispered to him:
“Give him the smallest one you have.”
He had a struggle whether he would give a large or a small ham, but finally he took down the largest he could find.
“You are a fool,” the devil said.
“If you don’t keep still,” the farmer replied, “I will give him every ham I have in the smoke-house.”