Do you want to be blessed?
Follow Wisdom and you will be blessed.
Proverbs 11:24–26 teaches a Kingdom principle that can seem backward from ordinary human thinking:
Generosity tends toward increase, while selfishly holding back tends toward loss.
Wisdom recorded in Proverbs chapter 11:
24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
Verse 24 — “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth”
“Scattereth” pictures someone freely distributing what he possesses rather than clutching it tightly.
The paradox is:
He gives away → yet increases.
Conversely:
He hoards unnecessarily → yet moves toward poverty.
This is not a mechanical promise that every dollar given will immediately produce more money. The “increase” can include material provision, relationships, influence, opportunity, Spiritual fruit, goodwill, and God’s blessing.
The principle appears elsewhere, Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 6:
38 Give generously and generous gifts will be given back to you, shaken down to make room for more. Abundant gifts will pour out upon you with such an overflowing measure that it will run over the top! The measurement of your generosity becomes the measurement of your return.”
And Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2nd Corinthians chapter 9:
6 Here’s my point. A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest.
7 Let giving flow from your heart, not from a sense of religious duty. Let it spring up freely from the joy of giving—all because God Loves hilarious generosity!
8 Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.
9 Just as the Scriptures say about the one who trusts in him: Because he has sown extravagantly and given to the poor, his kindness and generous deeds will never be forgotten.
10 This generous God who supplies abundant seed for the farmer, which becomes bread for our meals, is even more extravagant toward you. First HE supplies every need, plus more. Then HE multiplies the seed as you sow it, so that the harvest of your generosity will grow.
The picture is much like a farmer. Seed kept permanently in the barn never produces a harvest. Seed scattered into the ground can multiply.
Verse 25 — “He that watereth shall be watered also himself”
“The liberal soul” means the generous person. “Made fat” in the KJV means prospered, enriched, or abundantly supplied, not physically fat.
The second half is especially important:
“He that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
When you refresh, strengthen, encourage, feed, teach, help, or provide for others, God has ways of refreshing you.
There is a spiritual principle here: What flows through you can also bring blessing to you.
God’s purpose isn’t necessarily to make us reservoirs that merely accumulate. He wants us to become channels through which His provision flows to others.
That connects beautifully with Jesus’ picture:
“He that believeth on me… out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” — John 7:38
Although John 7 is specifically speaking about the Holy Spirit rather than financial generosity, the imagery is similar: God’s Life and blessing are meant to flow through His people rather than terminate with them.
Verse 26 — “He that withholdeth corn”
Now Solomon gives a practical example. Imagine a community suffering from food scarcity. One man has warehouses full of grain but refuses to sell because he hopes scarcity will drive the price higher. The people curse him. But the person who releases the grain into the marketplace receives their blessing.
Notice that Scripture says:
“blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.”
It doesn’t say he must give everything away. Selling something people genuinely need at a fair price can itself serve the community.
So Proverbs don’t condemn business or profit, it condemns selfish withholding and exploitation.
The deeper Spiritual principle
Taken together, these verses contrast two ways of living:
| Open-handed life | Closed-handed life |
| Gives | Hoards |
| Releases | Withholds |
| Refreshes others | Protects self first |
| Trusts God | Trusts possessions |
| Becomes a channel | Becomes a reservoir |
| Tends toward increase | Tends toward poverty |
The primary issue is therefore not merely money, it is the heart.
A person can have very little and still be generous. A person can possess enormous wealth and still live in fear of losing it.
The question Proverbs raises is:
Do I see what God has entrusted to me primarily as something to protect, or as something He can use through me?
There is also an important distinction: biblical generosity does not mean giving indiscriminately, enabling irresponsibility, or abandoning wise stewardship.
Proverbs itself repeatedly teaches planning, diligence, saving, and Wisdom. The ideal is wise stewardship with an open hand.
In one sentence, Proverbs 11:24–26 teaches:
God’s economy often works through multiplication rather than accumulation: when we faithfully release what God has entrusted to us for the good of others, we position ourselves to become channels through which He can continue to provide and bless.