Proverbs 11:24, 25 There is that scattered, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
This conditional promise regarding generosity and giving is a little cryptic, but clear enough to be understood. But when understood, it is a little hard to believe. It says that if you are generous and give liberally, then you yourself will not lose what you gave away but gain more for yourself and grow your own soul.
The one who scatters is one who gives money away to the Lord’s work and those in need. Somehow, almost as if by magic, it increases more for the generous giver. “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer,” renders the ESV. The liberal soul is the person that brings a blessing by giving with his substance; his soul will be made fat, which is a Biblical way of saying that he will grow richer and bigger in the things that matter. This one also waters, that is, he feeds, nourishes, grows, and lifts up others, and in doing so he waters himself; he grows and enriches his own soul.
It is as they say, “You can’t outgive God.” God is a generous giver, and when he finds a giving spirit He keeps giving him more so that he can give even more. When we become a lively channel for giving, then the Lord pours more into that channel.
The warning is the obverse of the promise: the one who withholds what he should give tends to become poorer and suffer want. The more selfish and miserly you are with your money the more it diminishes and seems to get smaller. God has promises for the big-hearted, but not for the tight-fisted.