“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35 NLT)
What if we sincerely and genuinely believed generosity was good for us? Could part of the problem be most of us immediately see $$ signs flashing in our head when we think of generosity? Think of how much money the Lord Jesus had while on earth, yet no one in history has given more than He did!
What if we became nearly obsessed with the urge to shower our spouse with kindness, compliments, praise, and genuine affection? What if rather than constantly seeking those things for ourselves, we found someone at work, in our neighborhood, in a grocery store, or in a thousand other settings to be thoughtful, kind, appreciative?
Giving entails far more than money, but it, of course, can include money as well. Why do we rebel at giving money we think we need? Have we so quickly forgotten the poor widow? What if rather than hoarding what we think we might need for a “rainy day,” we gave it away to someone who may actually need it?
How would our lives and the lives of those around us change for the better if we truly believed that generosity was good for us, and that greed was choking the life out of us? A quote by J. I. Packer staggers my imagination as I ponder its implications. He wrote: “There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me.”
Jesus knows how greedy we tend to be, but what if our generosity began to reflect not our heart, but His? What if our first thought when meeting someone for the first time wasn’t “sizing them up,” making decisions about how they’re dressed, what kind of car they drive, where they live, etc., and we shifted our attention to finding ways to be generous with our kindness, acceptance, love regardless of any of those outward criteria we use to “judge” them?
When we’re honest we must conclude God didn’t get such a great deal when He got us. Anything positive and good about us is only and always because of Him. What if we gave those in our spheres of influence greater opportunity to see Him than us? Realizing that EVERYTHING we have is a gift from God, what if we gave freely and generously with every resource we have at our disposal?
As I think of all the Lord is pouring into my heart right now, may I take this opportunity to thank each of you who read this blog. You need to know that I pray for you often, giving thanks to God for the time you take and the effort you make to read the words He gives me. I pray that He will bless you with a greater appreciation of who He is, how much He loves you, and how generously He wants to pour Himself into you, allowing His Holy Spirit to flow through you to those in your families and others to His honor and fame.
Personally, I’m taking inventory of how I treat others, beginning with my wife, kids, friends, and neighbors. The thought that compels me is to ponder what I can do to more effectively point them to Jesus. I pray, for me and you, that we can, from this moment forward, be so sensitive to the Lord’s directives that others will become a greater and greater focus. That our generosity will in ever greater measure reflect the love and generosity of our heavenly Father who holds nothing back in loving us.
May His example give us everything we need to become everything He desires us to be for Him.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 