The Power of a Gift

Proverbs 19:7 says,

All the brothers of the poor hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him!  He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him.

Sometimes just pursuing reconciliation with a person through communication is not enough.  Sometimes you need to take it to another level.  Look at Proverbs 18:16,

A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.

Sometimes it wouldn't hurt you to offer a gift to someone with whom you are seeking to reconcile.  The New International Version says, A gift opens the way.

When a brother is offended and the contentions are like bars of iron with the gate shut tight, the thing that opens the way is a gift.  The Living Bible says, A gift does wonders.  The Scripture says in Proverbs 21:14,

A gift in secret pacifies anger.

It is important to understand that both Proverbs 18:16 and 21:14 are actually shared in a negative sense.  They are talking about the power of a bribe.  Proverbs is great that way because it gives us both the positive and negative perspectives.  It's a truth (that I'm not saying is a good thing) that a bribe can open doors which may not be opened otherwise.

In a positive way, it is true that a gift can do wonders.  Not that you are trying to buy someone's favor, but a sincere gift can be a powerful form of communication.  The important thing is your motivation behind it.

A gift can say, "You're valuable enough to me that I took some of my hard-earned money and bought this for you."  A gift has the power to take things to another level as you seek to make things right. 

~Bayless Conley~