October 28, 2026

Business by the Book

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.

Lending money to another is seldom a good financial plan. But giving to the poor, that is tantamount to lending to the Lord. The Lord always repays His debts. In fact, the promise in today’s verse states clearly that that which a person gives to the poor the Lord will pay back to that person. So in reality, giving money to indigent causes is not giving at all. It is lending to the Lord because that which is “given” will be repaid. It is a can’t lose endeavor this thing of having pity on the poor, therefore helping them.

Jesus said, For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good… (Mark 14:7)  No matter how much the “war on poverty” is spoken about, invested in, and waged there will always be the poor among us. In fact, the plight of the poor today is so great that many have grown weary of helping them. Countless individuals with resources have become fatigued in giving to the poor. Falling into this trap hinders the ongoing flow of revenue that the Lord guarantees to those who remember and pity the poor.

In my personal opinion, which I share sparingly in these devotions, there are businesses that fail, individuals that come to want, and countries that continually struggle because of their lack of taking care of the poor in their communities. Many have said to me over the years, “If I give money to someone how do I know what they will do with it? They may use it for sinful purposes.”  My response has always been twofold. 1)  That which the poor does with the money given to them is not nearly as important as the heart of benevolence that God knows belongs to the person who gives. Such heart is one to be blessed and repaid. 2) God in Heaven trusts the one with abundance with that abundance and sometimes they use those resources wrongly, but the Lord still blesses them.

Throughout history those with the wherewithal to do so have invested in the poor. Such investment is not in the return they receive from the ones they help, but from the Lord God who promises to repay such investments. Many of the renowned industrialists and merchants of free market societies have nobly invested resources in the poor of their communities. Men like J.C. Penny who established homes for unwed mothers, benefactors of countless orphanages, those that built hospitals for the needy, and those that feed the hungry, house the destitute and give to the cause of education through scholarships, these are the ones making great investments that will continue to pay dividends. For the Lord has guaranteed it.

Dr. William Howe