Thursday, October 28, 2010
Generosity
Generosity does not necessarily come easy for some people. Living within your means, saving for the future, spend your money while you can, live it up, "I'm worth it" are all cliches that are ingrained in our psyche as we travel through this life. Then there is: share your toys, offer your seat to someone else, don't take the last piece of cake, splurging on gifts for birthdays and Christmas. No wonder it is confusing. True generosity comes from a thankful heart. Jesus talked about this a lot. Thankfulness for what we have been given leads to sharing what we have, meeting the needs of the widow and the fatherless. It is not always money, but many times it can be. Where our treasure is, there our heart is also. We love what we invest in. Hopefully that is more than the stock market or our clothes closet. When I am moved to be generous, I feel the grace of God bubbling up in my soul, like laughter. It feels like I am getting a gift, instead of just giving one to someone else. When I am afraid and stingy, some part of my soul is shriveled and injured. Generosity makes the heart glad, when you allow God to sing a love song to someone else through you.
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I can be a generous person, like everyone, but I have noticed that I have to check myself sometimes. My attitude. I have noticed that if I go out of my way to do something nice for someone else, especially if I'm really busy or tired and it took a lot of effort, I feel angry at the person if I feel like they didn't appreciate it, notice it, or enjoy it to my satisfaction. It's easy to be generous when the person you're doing it for is appreciative or enjoys what you've done or given them. More challenging is the time you've given of yourself, your time, or your money and the person doesn't care or even notice.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure it is better to give without expecting anything in return, including acknowledgement. And it is always a reminder to me to be sure to say thank you and let someone know how much they are appreciated when they have done nice things for me. Work in progess.
Melissa