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The buyer haggles over the price, saying, "It's worthless," then brags about getting a bargain! Proverb s 20:14
This proverb accurately describes events in an Eastern marketplace, but it also describes many dealings in the West. How many unsuspecting mothers have put their kids’ entire comic book collections in a garage sale, asking fifty dollars for the whole box, only to have some unscrupulous collector chisel it down even further, then cackle with glee as he carries off the loot, knowing he’ll earn thousands in sales.
This same principle is at play when greedy companies pay mere pennies per garment to sweatshops in third world countries where underage laborers work long hours for miserable wages, and when the manufacturers ask for more money, the companies moan, “You’re cutting into my profit margin!”
Are there any areas of your life where you’re living high on the hog, taking advantage of the poor or withholding from those in need? You might be surprised. For example, many waitresses in restaurants dislike the Sunday after church crowds, because Christians are often cheaper tippers than regular customers. (Maybe the Sunday crowds feel that, after giving to God, they’ve already given their limit.)
Jesus repeatedly encouraged generosity in giving—and in all your financial dealings. It seems at times He simply wouldn’t let up on the subject. He had a good reason for repeating Himself. He didn’t want His followers to be known as cheapskates.
This proverb accurately describes events in an Eastern marketplace, but it also describes many dealings in the West. How many unsuspecting mothers have put their kids’ entire comic book collections in a garage sale, asking fifty dollars for the whole box, only to have some unscrupulous collector chisel it down even further, then cackle with glee as he carries off the loot, knowing he’ll earn thousands in sales.
This same principle is at play when greedy companies pay mere pennies per garment to sweatshops in third world countries where underage laborers work long hours for miserable wages, and when the manufacturers ask for more money, the companies moan, “You’re cutting into my profit margin!”
Are there any areas of your life where you’re living high on the hog, taking advantage of the poor or withholding from those in need? You might be surprised. For example, many waitresses in restaurants dislike the Sunday after church crowds, because Christians are often cheaper tippers than regular customers. (Maybe the Sunday crowds feel that, after giving to God, they’ve already given their limit.)
Jesus repeatedly encouraged generosity in giving—and in all your financial dealings. It seems at times He simply wouldn’t let up on the subject. He had a good reason for repeating Himself. He didn’t want His followers to be known as cheapskates.
