Writing a blog about generosity doesn’t mean that I have completely figured it all out but I think that living generously is a life long pursuit for those of us who strive to be more like Jesus. The Bible gives us some incredible examples of lives lived generously, none better than the life of Jesus.
Consider the example of Mary, who used her most valuable possession (perfume) to wash the feet of Jesus. We are told that the value of this perfume was equivalent to wages for a full year. Or consider the Good Samaritan who gave time, resources and skills to meet the needs of a man who was left near death (Luke 10:25-37).
Often when we think of generosity we assume that it relates to money. We tend to give less emphasis or significance to being generous with our time, our talents, our possessions, our gifts, our attention etc. Living generously involves being generous with all that we have, not just money.
I spend most of my day speaking with people about money. People have often said to me that they would be generous if only they had more money than they needed. Ask those same people how much they need and the answer is often “more”.
I have come to learn that the best antidote for greed is generosity.
Giving helps us develop a healthy relationship with money. Unless or until we test this theory, it is hard to explain or understand how it could be. How could giving generously change my relationship with money? There are a number of helpful analogies out there, my favourite being to consider a closed hand holding on to what it has in its palm. A closed hand is neither able to give nor to receive. The hand is closed because it fears losing what it has and is determined to keep what it can. An open hand is easily able to give and to receive and becomes better able to enjoy what it has. I think most would agree that sharing what we have enhances the enjoyment of what we have. So, as we let blessings flow through us to others we experience joy. This is exactly what Jesus meant when He said that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).
I don’t have generosity figured out, but I can tell you that the more generous I am the more I seem to have. I can’t explain why or how. It may be because God changes my thinking such that I feel that I need less. Or, it may be because by being faithful with what we have God feels that He can trust us with more and His provision ensues. I’m not sure, but it is true at many levels.
When I give time, I seem to be less hurried. When I give my talents I seem to get better at it. When I give money, I seem to have more.
In any case, being generous for me is incredibly humbling. It is humbling to think that God has entrusted to me something that others find valuable, helpful or encouraging. As if that weren’t enough, I am the one who experiences joy from the giving.
May God richly bless you as you give!
PS: For some powerful stories and teachings about generosity, please check out www.generousgiving.org. They have a video section that contains a variety of teachings and testimonies.
