This week’s blog comes from James Price – husband, father and member of the hub team.
Generosity is not something that comes naturally to me. My default position is to be led (reluctantly) by my wife’s generous nature! In my experience the resulting feeling of giving someone a gift – whether financial or practical – is always an overwhelming feeling of joy and gratitude that always blows away my initial reticence.
For me, learning how to be generous requires a character overhaul. Something I am reminded of loud and clear when I read Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. In chapter nine, Paul reminds us about the character of a faithful giver, stating that they:
- give bountifully
- giving what you can, being generous, not sparing
- giving sacrificially, trusting in God’s provision
- give deliberately
- with willingness, as a response to all that God has done for us
- systematically, making it a habit/discipline
- give cheerfully
- not grudgingly: to give with regret
- not of necessity: simply because we feel we have to
By these standards I have some way to go. Thankfully I have the words of Paul and my wife to keep me on track!
In my personal experience, there are spiritual benefits to giving. Aside from the joy of helping others, and the satisfaction of following Jesus’ teaching, it can help us let go of materialistic delusions. For me this means not coveting a pair of noise reduction Bose Headphones – beautifully engineered, but lavishly priced.
Whether you give of your possessions or finances, in the action of being generous you make a clear statement that there are things that you value more than the allure of having money and possessions. For me, the result is that I see the many blessings I’ve received from God and am tremendously content.
Giving generously of my resources helps me remember that all we have comes from God, and belongs to him, and therefore it stirs up gratitude to him. It also helps focus my heart, mind and actions on the purposes of God. In Matthew’s Gospel, we read that Jesus said: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:21)
Faithful giving also releases the blessings of God and leads others to worship him. Through our faithful giving some people will see God’s greatness, others his love, and some his faithfulness.
With so many demands on our time and money in the shadow of austerity we can all find excuses not to be generous. The reality is quite different. Simply put, God must be first. As followers of Jesus we are called to give joyfully in response to his generosity – not as an obligation. The parable of the widow’s offering is a great reminder of this.
Giving requires an act of faith. No one states it is easy, but the promise from God is that he will exceed our needs, blowing any reticence away. I should have learnt by now that the reality of being generous is that far more is gained than we can ever give away.