Cultivating Generosity
Ground Generosity in God’s Generosity
For all things come from you,
and of your own have we given you.
- 1 Chronicles 29:14
This verse is familiar to many Christians because it is often repeated when the offering is collected during Sunday worship. The words remind us that what is being offered is already God’s and that we are simply stewards of the gifts that God has already given us.
This understanding of generosity helps us recognize that when we share with others, we are participating in God’s own generous nature. All that exists—our resources, abilities, and very lives—flows from God’s generous love.
This faith-based perspective stands in contrast to the attitude that claims, “All of this is mine and I don’t have to share it if I don’t want to.” The myth of the self-made individual is strong in our culture and while we certainly want to celebrate and honor hard work, as people of faith, we must always remember that all of life is a gift from God.
If all is a gift from God, and everyone we meet is created in the image of God, then we can’t help but want to practice generosity. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because God first loved us.” And so, we too practice generosity because God first practiced generosity with us.
When we embrace this understanding, it transforms not only how we give but how we receive. Every gift becomes an opportunity to participate in the endless flow of God’s generosity. Every act of sharing becomes a way of saying “thank you” for all we have been given.
Making it Personal: Do you fully believe what is expressed in the verse above from 1 Chronicles? How does your belief impact your being generous? When has receiving a gift helped you understand God’s generosity more deeply?
Listen To Our Lent Podcast Episodes
We also invite you to listen to the Living Compass Spirituality and Wellness Podcast hosted by Scott Stoner. This is a year-round, weekly podcast; however, during Lent, there will be two new episodes each week to enrich your experience of our Lenten readings on Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit.
You can listen to the podcast on our website by clicking HERE. You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast listening app (Apple, Google, Spotify, etc.)—just search for Living Compass Spirituality and Wellness