A visitor to a lighthouse said to the keeper, “Aren’t you afraid to live here with the storms and high winds constantly lashing the walls?”
“Oh, we have to be more concerned about those out on the sea,” the man replied. “We think only of having our lamps burning brightly and keeping the reflectors clear so that those in greater danger may be saved.”
We too are to be more concerned about others than we are about ourselves (Phil. 2:3-4). Generosity and selflessness produce an abundant life of joy and rich reward. According to the Scriptures, if we give freely to others, we will receive abundant blessing.
Proverbs 11 teaches that a person who gives to others will gain even more (vv.24-25). Verse 25 paints a word picture to make the point. It states that “he who waters will also be watered himself.”
The 19th-century preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “Let me consider the poor, and the Lord will also recompense me. Let me water His garden, and He will make a well-irrigated garden of my soul.”
As we focus our attention on giving refreshing help to the needy, we will be refreshed by the Lord.
Service is working and giving,
And not regretting the cost;
It's knowing and understanding
That no good deed will be lost. —Anon.
When it comes to helping others, some people stop at nothing.
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