Live Generously
A compilation 10/13You have been treated generously, so live generously.—Matthew 10:81
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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,” 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 Schnase
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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
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A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.—Proverbs 11:25
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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
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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 Carlson
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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
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All that is given cheerfully and generously to another comes back to you and enriches your life in unexpected ways.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy
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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 Springer
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