Day 11 of Pastor Chris' Paraphrase of Proverbs Devotional

Day 11  Cultivate generosity. Be as generous as you can in as many ways as you can to as many people as you can. A generous person is a joyful, satisfied person. They always feel like they're living an abundant life. They bless others and people bless them for their generosity. Generous people inspire generosity in others and others are generous with them. Of course, there will be those who are not appreciative, who never say thanks, or that take your generosity for granted. Be generous anyway because the benefits for you and others will always outweigh the negative. And stingy, greedy people who cling to what they have with clenched fists will never really be happy or satisfied. People won't like them that much and they will live a sad, unfulfilled life that comes to nothing of eternal consequence. Pastor Chris’ Paraphrase of Proverbs 11:24-30 24 People who spread generosity widely gain even more.  Those who cling to what they have, never have enough. 25 A soul that blesses will be satisfied with more than enough and the person who refreshes others will be refreshed. 26 People will hate on those who refuse to sell them food when they’re starving, but they will sing the praises of those who sell it at a fair price. 27 Someone who always tries to do good is admired; but if you try to do evil, it will catch you in its claws. 28 People who rely on their wealth will meet with disaster, but those who do what’s right blossom like flowers in the spring. 29 People that always aggravate their family won’t inherit anything.  Fools end up slaving for the wise. 30 People who live right are rewarded with life and those who win souls are wise. Prayer "Father, help me to be generous.  Help me to see and feel that I have more than enough already and so be willing to give freely.  Help me to keep my eyes open to the many opportunities to give generously.  And help me to be generous in as many ways as I can and as often as I can for You have been so generous with me.  Amen." Read Proverbs Chapter 11
New American Standard Bible	Pastor Chris’ Paraphrase
Proverbs 11 Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked 1 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight. 2 When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom. 3 The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them. 4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. 5 The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed. 7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong men perishes. 8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, But the wicked [a]takes his place. 9 With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered. 10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting. 11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down. 12 He who despises his neighbor lacks [b]sense, But a man of understanding keeps silent. 13 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is [c]trustworthy conceals a matter. 14 Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is [d]victory. 15 He who is guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it, But he who hates [e]being a guarantor is secure. 16 A gracious woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches. 17 The merciful man does [f]himself good, But the cruel man [g]does himself harm. 18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward. 19 He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death. 20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, But the blameless in their [h]walk are His delight. 21 [i]Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, But the [j]descendants of the righteous will be delivered. 22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks [k]discretion. 23 The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath. 24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. 25 The [l]generous man will be [m]prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. 26 He who withholds grain, the people will curse him, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. 27 He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him. 28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. 29 He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, And the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise [n]wins souls. 31 If the righteous will be rewarded in the earth, How much more the wicked and the sinner! Footnotes: 1.    Proverbs 11:8 Lit enters 2.    Proverbs 11:12 Lit heart 3.    Proverbs 11:13 Lit faithful of spirit 4.    Proverbs 11:14 Lit deliverance 5.    Proverbs 11:15 Lit those who strike hands 6.    Proverbs 11:17 Lit good to his own soul 7.    Proverbs 11:17 Lit troubles his flesh 8.    Proverbs 11:20 Lit way 9.    Proverbs 11:21 Lit Hand to hand 10.  Proverbs 11:21 Lit seed 11.  Proverbs 11:22 Lit taste 12.  Proverbs 11:25 Lit soul of blessing 13.  Proverbs 11:25 Lit made fat 14.  Proverbs 11:30 Lit takes	Proverbs 11 1 It disgusts the Lord when people cheat, but He is delighted when people are honest. 2 Arrogance leads to disgrace; those who are wise are humble. 3 Honest people do the right thing because of their integrity, but shady people are ruined by their own crooked ways. 4 Money is useless on the day of judgment, but living right can save you from death. 5 The way innocent people live keeps them out of trouble, but the ungodly are brought down by their own evil deeds. 6 Godly people are saved by the good things they do, but the misconduct of deceivers land them in jail. 7 An ungodly person’s hope is lost when they finally die; their lives come to nothing. 8 People who obey God steer away from trouble, while those who do wrong head right to it. 9 Godless hypocrites say things that ruin their friends, but God saves those who carefully obey Him. 10 The whole community celebrates when God’s people do well and they shout for joy when the wicked lose. 11 A city becomes a model when it's blessed with people who live right, but it can all be ruined by the toxic things bad people say. 12 It’s senseless to be rude to people.  A smart person just doesn’t say anything. 13 A gossip is someone who goes around sharing everyone’s private business.  Someone who’s trustworthy will keep quiet. 14 A community fails without wise leaders to guide; it succeeds when there are many smart leaders guiding people. 15 It’s too risky to cosigning a loan for someone you don’t really know.  Be safe and don’t do it. 16 A gracious woman maintains her honor and a strong man maintains his wealth. 17 It’s rewarding to be kind; cruelty hurts you as much as anyone else. 18 Whatever rewards the ungodly earn are really thin air, but those who do the right thing will be richly blessed. 19 People who always do the right thing will live, but people who chase evil will find it and die. 20 A perverse heart is disgusting to Lord Jehovah, but the innocent bring a smile to His face. 21 You can take this to the bank: people won’t get away with evil forever, but the descendants of those who live right will be saved. 22 A beautiful woman with no class is like a muddy pig wearing a golden nose ring. 23 People who really want to live right find goodness, but all the ungodly can hope for is fury. 24 People who spread generosity widely gain even more.  Those who cling to what they have, never have enough. 25 A soul that blesses will be satisfied with more than enough and the person who refreshes others will be refreshed. 26 People will hate on those who refuse to sell them food when they’re starving, but they will sing the praises of those who sell it at a fair price. 27 Someone who always tries to do good is admired; but if you try to do evil, it will catch you in its claws. 28 People who rely on their wealth will meet with disaster, but those who do what’s right blossom like flowers in the spring. 29 People that always aggravate their family won’t inherit anything.  Fools end up slaving for the wise. 30 People who live right are rewarded with life and those who win souls are wise. 31 If people who live right are rewarded in this life, what do you think will happen to wicked sinners?
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation	Pastor Chris’ Paraphrase of Proverbs (PCP) Copyright © 2018 by Chris Mullis