Articles
Generosity
Then the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians brethren to remind them of the need to “prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised” (2 Cor. 9:5), he pointed to the example of the Macedonians as ones who “in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality,” and who “according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints” (2 Cor. 8:3, 4). Paul described the Macedonians using terms that are the very definition of generosity.
Generosity is defined as "liberal in giving or sharing; unselfish," and, "readiness or liberality in giving." Inherent in the one who is generous is a willingness to share, an attitude of unselfishness, and liberality in the act of giving. Paul's admonition to the Corinthian brethren was that they give “as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation,” and each one is to give “as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:5). God wants us to give generously, not because we are forced to do so, and not begrudgingly. Again, God loves a cheerful giver; as with everything we do in our service to Him, it is to be done out of love for Him and for our fellow man.
Generosity should describe God's people, if for no other reason than the fact we have been on the receiving end of God's generous grace and mercy. As Paul put it, “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Rom. 5:20). Though man has so often and so regularly sinned against God, His grace is greater than our sin. He generously — willingly, unselfishly, and liberally — gave His Son “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That generous spirit was in Christ, too, for He has “loved us and given Himself for us” (Eph. 5:2), and He did so willingly (John 10:18).
This attitude of generosity should permeate every aspect of the disciple's life, too, for one cannot be occasionally generous, or selectively generous. Generosity is a way of life — an attitude that is not dependent on circumstances [remember the Macedonians, who were in “deep poverty”] or the amount of one's personal wealth. Generosity is, again, and attitude of selflessness, and will be reflected in how we treat others, and in all we do. But it will not come by
accident, nor will it come without purposeful efforts to be a generous individual. What we need to know, then, are the factors that will enable us to have a heart of generosity. Let's consider just a few things…
Give Yourself to the Lord and to Others. (2 Cor. 8:1-5) As noted earlier, when Paul exhorted the Corinthian brethren to follow through on their promise of giving, he pointed to the example of the Macedonians and their willingness to give despite their poverty, and Paul noted that they were able to do this because “they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God” (v. 5). the 'secret' to their willingness to give so freely and liberally was that they considered their lives ones of service to others, and were not just living for their own selfish desires.
It is truly amazing how insignificant our problems seem when we have such an attitude, with most of our 'needs' disappearing altogether when we are focused on what we can and should do for others. One of the most basic factors necessary for cultivating a generous heart is viewing self as a servant of God and of others. When we do this, we will be ready to give of ourselves and give of our possessions.
Stewardship Living. (1 Chron. 29:1-16) In this text, David had gathered the people to encourage them all to give for the building of the temple, and he began by setting the example of generosity, giving liberally from his personal treasury (vv. 2-5); his example was followed by that of the people, who also gave liberally (vv. 6-9). More than just the liberality should be noted, though, for it is their attitude that enabled their liberality!
The attitude that enabled their liberality was one that viewed themselves as mere stewards of God's possessions! David, after all the people had given for the building of the temple, prayed, “Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own” (vv. 13-16).
The people gave generously because they saw their possessions as God's possessions, and they as mere stewards of it all. With that mindset, they could give generously because they knew there were no limits to God's ability to bless them further. When we see ourselves as mere stewards of these earthly possessions, we will likewise have generous hearts and be willing to give.
Do and Give All You Can. (Luke 12:41-44) We might remember the time Jesus observed the giving for the temple treasury, noting the poor widow who gave two mites, while the rich “put in much.” Jesus noted afterwards that this poor widow had put in more than the others because “she out of her poverty put in all that she had.” In this instance, the widow gave all she had!
Generosity is, as we noted earlier, "liberal in giving or sharing; unselfish," and this poor widow exemplified true generosity in that she withheld nothing. She was not thinking about where she would get her next meal, how she would pay her rent, or how little she had. She knew how much she had and she gave it all. This is the attitude that will lay the foundation for a generous heart, and it is helped further by having a heart that is ready and willing to do all we can, and not thinking about how it might affect us negatively, what we will have to sacrifice in order to give generously, or whether or not anyone ever finds out about our act of generosity.
Be Content With What You Have. (Heb. 13:5) With the big shopping day behind us, it might be a little late to note that the popular habit of Black Friday shopping is often the day when society demonstrates greed more than generosity. As someone has said, "It's the day right after we give thanks for what we have that we go out and buy things we don't need." Far too often, Black Friday is when we fall prey to the advertising industry's efforts to convince us we would be 'happy' with more and more stuff. God's admonition is clear, though: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Again, the admonition to God's people is to trust Him to provide for our needs; He is not going to abandon us, and we cannot out-give His ability to provide!
Contentment with what we have will eliminate much of our worrying about material possessions, and will free up space in our hearts for generosity. When we trust that God will provide, we will not worry about what we don't have [or won't have, if we give], and we will think only of what we can do for others.
—— Steven Harper
