Day 25 - Gratitude & Generosity

Readings: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

In writing to the church in Corinth, Paul has this to say:

‘God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it:

He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon

His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.’ (2 Corinthians 9:8-11, The Message)

According to Scripture, there is a wondrous cycle of abundance that we can be a part of. It starts with God generously providing everything that we need, and more, so that we can extend the blessings we’ve received to others. What a wondrous thing - that our lives are both targets and channels of God’s abundance. That God intends us to be recipients and givers of grace.

Our capacity for generosity has very little to do with our relative wealth or poverty compared to others. Some of the richest people in the world in monetary terms are the most anxious, fearful and tight-fisted when it comes to giving. And some of the poorest people have discovered the great joy of generosity that bursts out of heartfelt gratitude for all that God has done for them. There is little doubt as to who lives the richer life!

What is more, as we take our place and play our part in this cycle of abundance, the vice-like grip in which money holds us is broken. It’s true, the spiritual discipline of giving shatters the god-like power that money can wield over our lives and enables us to place our trust in the one true living God. And as we grow in generosity, we become a more faithful reflection of the abundantly generous God in whose image we have all been made.

Gratitude and generosity! This is the great and desperate need of a world that has become so obsessed with selfishly trying to grab more and more, and never being satisfied with what there is, because it is unable to see the sufficiency in what has already been given.

These gifts of gratitude and generosity are freely within reach of us all. They can, and should, be a central part of how we live our lives every day.

Six spiritual principles of generosity:

1. Generosity is part of God’s nature. Ours is an abundantly generous God. We see the generosity of God in the brilliance and beauty of creation; in the rich gift of life that He has freely given to us all; in His patient, long-suffering love for us. We see God’s generosity best of all in the gift of His Son Jesus, given in love for the world, who in turn gave up his own life so that we might live.
2. Generosity is part of our deepest identity. If God is a generously abundant God, and we’ve been made in God’s image, this means that generosity is part of who we are and who God has made us to be. The life that God intends for us cannot be fully known unless we live generously.
3. Generosity always makes a positive difference. We live in a world that is full of desperate need. Every day we are confronted by the harsh realities of poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and the like. Many people feel powerless, or frustrated, or angry in the face of these things, without realising that the simple decision to live more generously would make them part of the solution, and not simply adding to the problem.
4. Generosity frees. People easily become ensnared in anxiety, fear, envy and greed when it comes to the material things of this world. Expressing generosity liberates us from the choking effects of greed and fear.
5. Generosity is a powerful witness. In a world dominated by so much grabbing and hoarding, generous people stand out as shining lights, pointing to a different way of living life. Generous people point others to the generosity of God.
6. Generosity opens us to abundance. While it is true that we do not give in order to receive, it is equally true that when we do give, we always receive. In some strange but wonderful way, that which we give away determines what we will have most abundantly. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Questions for reflection:

What are you most grateful for? Is your gratitude evident in the life you’re living?

When were you recently on the receiving end of someone else’s generosity? How did it make you feel?

Prayer:

Abundantly generous God. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Amen