Wise Philanthropy
W. Arnot, D.D. Proverbs 11:24 There is that scatters, and yet increases; and there is that withholds more than is meet, but it tends to poverty. To distribute portions of our wealth in schemes and acts of wise philanthropy is like casting into the ground as seed a proportion of the last year's harvest. It goes out of your sight for the moment, but it will spring in secret, and come back to your own bosom, like manna from heaven. An unwise man may indeed scatter his corn on barren rocks, or on equally barren sands, and though he sow bountifully he will reap sparingly there. So, in the moral region, the increase is not absolutely in proportion to the profusion of the scattering. When a man lays out large sums on unworthy objects, to feed his own vanity or gratify his own whim, he neither does nor gets good. The outlay is in its own nature and necessarily profitable. In educating the young, in reclaiming the vicious, in supporting the aged poor, in healing the sick, and in making known the gospel to all, we have ample fields to cultivate, and the prospect of large returns to cheer us in the toil. (W. Arnot, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. WEB: There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.