The Hand That Opens

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

This verse reverses ordinary arithmetic. The one who scatters increases. The one who holds back more than is meet — more than is right — moves toward poverty.

It sounds impossible until you watch it happen. The farmer who eats his seed has a full stomach and an empty field. The person who never helps anybody ends up with nobody. The business that never invests in its people slowly loses them. Withholding feels safe and quietly costs everything.

Be careful, though. The verse does not praise carelessness. It says more than is meet — the problem is holding back beyond what is right, out of fear rather than wisdom. Saving is wise. Hoarding is fear wearing the clothes of wisdom.

Ask which one is running your hand today. Fear closes it. Faith opens it and finds, to its own surprise, that there is more.