In what ways are you generous? How generous are you? Are you contributing to others?
It’s the basic level of love as Christ said “Love others as much as you love yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) There are many ways to share your wealth of money, time, effort and wisdom.
You can be a heavy tipper. You could become part of www.charitywater.org and give clean water to those who don’t have it. Maybe sponsor a child or five of them with World Vision or my favorite; www.compassion.com.
How about giving to your church, or a mission program? You could volunteer locally. You could serve at church or offer free counseling if you are trained. You could help older people or volunteer at a hospital or give to St. Jude’s Hospital.
The list is almost endless - so is the need.
What about your love? Do you share it with your children, your spouse or partner, your friends, your parents and strangers? Honestly, our love drives our charity and where we spend our time, money and energy.
God loved us so much that he gave us his “only’ Son to come to earth and die for the sin of those who were living in sin. (John 3:16)
God’s gift of Christ is the most generous gift of all. If we accept Christ, God’s love- gift of his Son forgives our past, present and future sin. Christ saves us from eternity in hell and secures our place in heaven after we die. He also improves our life now.
Did you know that there are more than 2500 verses in the Bible on money, giving and investing in others? This is more text than any other topic, including faith and love.
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that God blesses the giver so they can give more. He said:
“Remember this: The person who plants a little will have a small harvest, but the person who plants a lot will have a big harvest. Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily. And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything—enough to give to every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NCV)
Paul also said that God grows your assets as you give more and it causes others acknowledge God in their life. He said:
“God is the One who gives seed to the farmer and bread for food. He will give you all the seed you need and make it grow so there will be a great harvest from your goodness. He will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving will cause many to give thanks to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:10-11 NCV)
Paul also warned the Galatians that God cannot be fooled. He knows who is a true giver. And - you will reap what you sow - so sow well. He warns not to live just for ourselves.
“Do not be fooled: You cannot cheat God. People harvest only what they plant. If they plant to satisfy their sinful selves, their sinful selves will bring them ruin. But if they plant to please the Spirit, they will receive eternal life from the Spirit. When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:7-8, 10 NCV)
The truth is, we love ourself quite deeply. We spend most of our money on ourself. The goal is to give more and more.
Maybe even give to the point in which it scares you a bit. Meaning, it may stretch you a little and you will need God’s help to recover from your giving. That takes faith.
Wendy and I recently read a book; “Die with Zero.” The premise is to give while you can. Give now and die with as little money left on the table as possible.
Did you know that the average age of inheritance beneficiaries is 62 to 65 year old children. They, along with charities would rather have your money now than later. I like the concept.
The “Die with Zero” concept also encourages you to live your life now and spend some money on yourself while you are healthy and able. As a guy who was surprised out of the blue with leukemia, that makes sense too. There’s nothing wrong with spending some money on yourself.
The question is; “How generous is your love and charity for others?” Does your love and charity equal the love you have for yourself? There’s nothing like giving. It’s why God blesses us.
LORD, how we give shows how much we really love. Help us to love genuinely and generously. Help us to really give this serious consideration and make us true givers. IJNIP amen ♥️
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