“She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, yes; she reaches out her hand to the needy” Proverbs 31: 20.

I see this passage as a strong word and illustration to the Church, the Bride of Christ, not just to individual women.

Be generous. The Lord says in Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”

Imagine for a moment if this was how our society lived? Imagine picking up an extra shift so you could give the money away to someone you knew who was struggling to make ends meet? Imagine if you picked up an extra couple hours so you had pocket money for those begging for food?

Just imagine!

Generosity does not need to be finances alone. As we discussed earlier loving can be time, work, emotional support, cooking, cleaning, the list goes on. A very good friend of mine had emergency surgery and was under the weather in bed recovering for a week. I cleaned bathrooms and mucked out her barn and fed her horses. It took four hours. I lay in bed with her and we talked about God and life and lessons we had learned and about horses too of course. It was wonderful. It was what she needed at the time. The Lord has used her wisdom to bless me so much! I was so happy that my health could help her in her time of need.

Maybe generosity in friendships is what the Lord is requesting of you.

I leave you with this message from Romans 12: 10 -15, “Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Blessing those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep”.