Live Generously

Giving puts us in a healthier relationship with our possessions and with the material world in which we live. We like making money, but we enjoy other things as well, such as the love of our family, belonging to community, a sense of meaning, accomplishment, contribution, and service. We enjoy making a positive difference in the lives of other people. But how do we maintain balance and perspective? How can we appropriately secure the basic needs of food, shelter, education, and health while also living with purpose? How do we avoid too much preoccupation with the things that do not ultimately satisfy, and cultivate those things that do? The intentional practice of generosity helps us keep our priorities straight.

Giving reflects the nature of God. We give because we are made in the image of God, whose essential nature is giving. We are created with God’s nature imprinted on our souls; we are hardwired to be social, compassionate, connected, loving, and generous. God’s extravagant generosity is part of our essential nature as well. But we are anxious and fearful, influenced by a culture that makes us believe we never have enough. God sent Jesus Christ to bring us back to ourselves, and back to God. As we “have in us the mind of Christ Jesus,”2 we become free. Growing in the grace of giving is part of the Christian journey of faith, a response Christian disciples offer to God’s call to make a difference in the world.—Robert Schnase3

Mercy brings to us forgiveness;
Forgiveness makes gratitude flourish;
Gratitude carries us to generosity;
Generosity takes us nearer to the sweetness;
Sweetness enriches us with love…
And perfect Love gives us peace.
—Guillermo

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.—Luke 6:384

You don’t have to be a millionaire to give what you’ve got. There is not one of God’s children who cannot afford to give something to help others less fortunate. You may think you can’t afford to give, or you may not be able to give a lot at first, but God blesses everybody that gives. If you’re not rich, that’s all the more reason to give, so God can bless you and help you have more.

God’s finances work the opposite from the world’s. The world says, “When I’ve got my million, then I’ll start giving.” But the Lord says, “Start giving what you’ve got now, and then I’ll give you more.” Man says, “Me first. Self-preservation is the first law of nature.” But God says, “Put Me and Mine first, and I’ll take care of you afterwards.”5 There’s no such thing as a poor giver. Nobody who gives generously—even if it’s only of the little he or she has—can be poor, because God will bless them with more.

God’s way to plenty is to give sacrificially of what you now have. The more you share, the more God will heap on you, and the more you’ll have to share. Love gives itself rich.—David Brandt Berg

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.—Proverbs 11:256

St. Francis of Assisi stated, “All getting separates you from others; all giving unites you with others.” The heart of selflessness is generosity. It not only helps to unite the team, but it also helps to advance the team.— John C. Maxwell

To create a bridge between your spirituality and your work means that you take the essence of who you are and what you believe into your daily work life. It means that if kindness, patience, honesty and generosity are spiritual qualities that you believe in, you make every effort to practice those qualities at work. You treat people with kindness and respect. You are as generous as you can be—with your time, money, ideas and love.

In any given day, you have so many opportunities to practice patience, acts of kindness, and forgiveness. You have time to think loving thoughts, smile, embrace others, and practice gratitude. You can practice being a better listener. You can try to be compassionate, especially with difficult or abrasive people. You can practice your spirituality in virtually everything you do.—Richard Carlson7

“Take this to the poor widow who lives on the edge of town,” the old German shoemaker told his young apprentice, handing him a basket of fresh garden vegetables. The shoemaker worked hard at his trade and cultivated his little garden patch to make ends meet, yet he always seemed to be giving away what little he had.

“I give nothing away,” he said. “I lend it to the Lord, and He repays me many times. I am ashamed that people think I am generous when I am repaid so much. A long time ago, when I was very poor, I saw someone even poorer than I. I wanted to give something to him, but I could not see how I could afford to. I did give, and the Lord has helped me. I have always had some work, and my garden grows well. Since then I have never stopped to think twice when I have heard of someone in need. No, even if I gave away all I have, the Lord would not let me starve. It is like money in the bank, only this time the bank—the Bank of Heaven—never fails, and the interest comes back every day.”—Author unknown

You can’t help all the poor, but at least you can help those with whom you come in contact, and particularly those who perform services for you. I never felt like tipping was an extravagance or a waste of any kind. I always felt like generous tipping was not only a help to the person I was tipping—and they really needed it—but I wanted to give and I enjoy it.—David Brandt Berg

According to legend, there was once an abbey which had a very generous abbot. No beggar was ever turned away, and he gave all he could to the needy. The strange thing was that the more he gave away, the richer the abbey seemed to become.

When the old abbot died, he was replaced by a new one with exactly the opposite nature—he was mean and stingy. One day an elderly man arrived at the monastery, saying that he had stayed there years before, and was seeking shelter again. The abbot turned the visitor away, saying the abbey could no longer afford its former hospitality.

“Our monastery cannot provide for strangers like it used to when we were wealthy,” he said. “No one seems to make gifts towards our work nowadays.”

“Ah, well,” said the stranger, “I think that is because you banished two brothers from the monastery.”

“Oh, yes,” was the reply. “They were twins. One was called ‘Give’ and the other, ‘It shall be given unto you.’ You banished ‘Give,’ so his brother decided to go as well.”—Author unknown

There’s no such thing as a poor giver. According to the laws of God and His finances and His blessings and the way He works, there is nobody who gives generously and abundantly, even if it’s only the widow’s mite, all they’ve got, who is poor. Because if they have given everything, God will give them everything, so they can’t be poor! He’ll bless them somehow.—David Brandt Berg

Love goes the extra mile. Love is generous; it doesn’t ask, “What’s in it for me?”—Thomas Lickona

All that is given cheerfully and generously to another comes back to you and enriches your life in unexpected ways.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

If only we could realize while we are yet mortals that day by day we are building for eternity, how different our lives in many ways would be! Every gentle word, every generous thought, every unselfish deed will become a pillar of eternal beauty in the life to come. We cannot be selfish and unloving in one life and generous and loving in the next. The two lives are too closely blended—one but a continuation of the other.—Rebecca Springer8

Published on Anchor October 2013. Read by Jerry Paladino.
Music by Michael Dooley.

1 MSG.

2 Philippians 2:5.

3 Five Practices of Fruitful Living (Abingdon Press, 2010).

4 ESV.

5 Matthew 6:33.

6 NIV.

7 Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff at Work (New York: Hyperion, 1998).

8 Intra Muros ("Within the Gates," 1922).

Live Generously

A compilation