Generosity Stew

Our sharing time this month was like one of those tasty winter stews, where every mouthful brings a different flavour. I am sure that I was not able to note all the brilliant perspectives, points and ponderings that were shared – but here are a few tasty morsels to get you chewing on this whole generosity thing:  

Giving is about responding to God’s call to give and not stressing too much about the outcome of the giving. That’s God’s concern. Our concern is that we are obedient to the His voice when He asks us to give.

God is generous and He does provide, but one must guard against seeing His provision as a sign of His goodness. God is good regardless of whether there has been provision or not. If there has been a lack of a sign of provision it doesn’t mean that He is less good.

As we have to learn to give, we also have to learn to receive generosity from others. To receive it with an open heart, and not feel that one is now indebted to that person and that one now has to perform. Rather, just as the giver has to keep her eyes on Jesus and not stress about the outcome of the gift, so the receiver has to keep her eyes on Jesus too – and respond to His directing rather than feel she owes the giver.

Generosity is not just about giving money – I can be generous with who I am

I can be generous in the way that I talk to people, in my conversations
I can be generous in focussing on the issue and not the person in times of conflict
I can be generous by not holding grudges against people
I can be generous by thinking the best about other people’s intentions and motives
I can be generous by respecting the dignity of each person, including the beggar at the traffic lights - I can look the beggar in the eye and greet him or her, even when I don't feel right about giving money
I can be generous with my time

One mom shared she had a longing to see God’s miraculous provision – inspired by the book Always Enough (a book review to be posted soon)  - and yet recognises that in order to allow God to move in the miraculous, she needs to be in a place of complete desperation. This is hard. She and her husband are trusting God for finances and so have experienced being totally dependent on God. She shared about the cycle of being in need, trusting God for provision, then a rising sense of panic as the deadline approaches, and the relief and joy of the 11^th hour provision.

Someone wondered why God’s provision was often at the 11^th hour, another wondered if it was because we so often give at the 11^th hour having um-ed and ah-ed as to whether we should give or not.

A lady who did not seem to grapple with the cycle of trust/panic/relief was Corrie ten Boom. She knew Jesus well enough to trust him even into the 11^th hour. Another book review will elaborate on this and hopefully inspire us to do the same.

Giving out of guilt, manipulation or coercion is not generosity. God loves a cheerful giver (2 orinthians 9: 7). If you don't feel you can give cheerfully, then maybe you shouldn't be giving, or you need some Holy Spirit work on your heart?

Generosity is totally enhanced when giving is done in the context of relationship.  

Would love to hear your thoughts on generosity…

God is generous

A while back a friend referred to God as being generous, and I was struck by the fact that I found it hard to embrace this description of God. Looking around at the poverty and at so many struggling with finances, I realised that I did not really believe that God is generous.

I have recently read Is God to Blame by Gregory Boyd where he challenges us to understand and know God only through Jesus, and not let experiences we have in life define God. So I asked God to show His generosity to me through  Jesus and was led to the story of the loaves and fishes in Matthew 14.  

You know how the story goes, Jesus multiplies two fishes and five loaves to feed a crowd of thousands. What hit me as I read it this time was that there were 12 baskets full of food left over – God provided more than enough. So those 12 baskets are for me a visual image to remind me of God’s generosity.

One of the other mom’s at our gathering shared that she always thinks about her own father's words when he responded to her request for financial help during her poorer student days. He reminded her of what Jesus said: “which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?” Matt 7 verse 9-11

What is your image of God’s generosity?

Understanding God’s generosity is an important step towards being freed to be generous, and to share with our children how they too can be generous.