What does Proverbs 23:7 mean?

Solomon explains why it's best to avoid taking hospitality from someone who is "stingy." The literal meaning of the Hebrew phrase (Proverbs 23:6) is someone with an "evil eye." Here, that figure of speech is given context. The host depicted here is not being generous out of love or brotherhood. Instead, he gives grudgingly and with the expectation of being repaid, somehow.

Scripture describes this type of host as "inwardly calculating." He is feigning friendliness, but he does not really wish his guest well. Either he is regretting the cost of the food the guest is consuming or he is attempting to deceive the guest into being taken advantage of. When someone realizes the "hospitality" they've been offered was really an attempted bribe, or manipulation, it makes them want to spit out what they've eaten (Proverbs 23:8). The time and conversation feel like a waste.

The Bible denounces filling one's heart with materialistic concerns and the love of money. The stingy man's concern about the cost of the food is contrary to Jesus' teaching about materialism. He said, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25). He added, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" (verse 31). Paul urged Timothy to warn believers about the love of money and to stress the importance of being generous (1 Timothy 6:17–18).