Good morning. Let's turn to Psalm 37. We're continuing verse by verse through Psalm 37 today, verses 21 and 22, which go together. So I'll read those. Psalm 37, verses 21 and 22. Hear now the word of God. The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. Or as the ESV says, the righteous is generous and gives. For those blessed by him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. So we have two considerations here today in Psalm 37. Generosity and debt. Both of which are framed in the context of a heart attitude that directs how we steward our resources God has given us. So first of all, the first question is, are you generous? It's a time of self-reflection. Are you generous? Are you generous to others? Are you generous to your family? Husbands, are you generous to your wife? Wives, are you generous to your husband? Parents, are you generous to your children? In your business, are you generous? At your work, are you generous? To your employer? Are you generous at the restaurant when you give a tip? Are you generous with your time? Are you generous in your love? Are you generous in sharing your gifts? Are you generous in serving? Do you generously offer forgiveness? Are you generous in sitting down with someone to listen? Generosity, giving more than is expected, right? Why should a Christian be generous? Have you thought about that? Well, it's because we have a God who is very, very, very generous to us. He continually pours out His mercy, His love, His grace. We're standing under the Niagara Falls of His love, soaked in His mercy, 24 hours a day, never ending. It's a waterfall that, I don't know if Niagara Falls has just stopped for an hour and then started up again. No, it doesn't, just like our God. He incessantly protects us and provides for us. Who ate something this morning? Wow, yet again, he provided. And did he provide more than you needed? Probably, probably. Surely our cup runneth over. Secondly, as the redeemed people of God, as we know, as our verse says today, we will inherit the earth. Remember, we studied this several weeks ago, earlier in Psalm 37, the earth, or you could think of it as this everlasting life, this eternity, true understanding and truth, is not earned, but it's inherited. Given, it's given to the meek, to those who wait on the Lord, who trust not in themselves, but in God, for by humility in the fear of the Lord is riches, honor, and life. See, remember the righteous, we remain to inherit the earth. You remember that? We remain. The wicked are taken away. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man. So we are to be ready. We are to reflect the nature and character and attributes of our God and be generous and give and show mercy. So why would you be generous? If you're still wondering, should I be generous? Well, if you're genuinely generous, even when no one else knows and no one's looking, it's because you're not hoping in yourself or your perfect management and control of your resources. No, you're hoping in God. and you love your God, and you know your Father in Heaven is generous, and He's the one that has really given you everything anyway, if He presents you an opportunity to give more than is expected, then do it in faith. Be generous as your Father in Heaven is generous, and as He conforms us to that image of Christ, we will learn that we get to be generous. That's the blessing it is. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you by his poverty might become rich. If Jesus is in us, then increasingly such an open-handed tendency will be in us as well. One of the effects of the gospel going deeper into our souls is that it frees our fingers to loosen their grasps on our goods and time. Generosity is one of the great evidences of truly being a Christian, having true faith, because we know, we know that our God in heaven provides all things and he's generous. But to do so, we have to see how rich we are in the gospel, how wealthy we are in God's grace, what abundance we have of his daily mercy. This is why gratefulness and speaking to one another of our thanksgivings is so important in the Christian life, because we can so easily forget about God's continual, generous grace. Secondly, this psalm sets up a contrast for it. Do you see it? The wicked borrow and do not repay. But the righteous do the opposite. They are generous and they give. And so to be generous, the picture here, to be generous and give, you can't be so mired in debt because you've lost your freedom and margin to give and be generous. And so, it's in the same way with your time. If you're overcommitted and you have no margin of time in your life, you don't have any freedom to give it when the friend calls and needs it. Those who borrow and do not repay should be cursed. So, as a practical warning, if you go into debt, Just be cautious, be careful, seek wisdom, and then repay it, repay it fully with integrity, sacrifice, glorify God in this way, and then grow abundantly in the freedom, the freedom to have love, to show generosity, and to give. Because for the Christian, for us, the issue is not that we give. We know that we should give. It's how do we give? Remember 2 Corinthians 9, God loves a cheerful giver. So we see it's not so much what's not spoken of as exactly what you gave or how often you gave or how much you gave, but it's what was your heart when you gave? Why did you give? What mindset, what love was behind that? We can give joyfully and we can repay our debts quickly and with integrity because we take upon the generosity we see in our God. That Christ himself, our Savior, our Lord, our greatest treasure, he demonstrated that ultimate generosity in coming to save us, in giving his life that we may live. May our lives reflect that same picture of giving and generosity as our Savior. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that in Christ you have given us this ability to not cling tightly to our time, to our goods, to our resources, but we recognize you've given everything to us. And we have the freedom and liberty in Christ to hope and trust in you. And to be generous as our Father in heaven is generous. Oh God, forgive us. We confess to you that our times we are not generous. We do not give, but we take. Oh Lord, would you quicken that within our souls and build us now to be like you. We take a moment now to individually confess our sins to you.