Well, firstly, generosity does not come naturally to us. You were not born “a giver.” Indeed, the Bible tells us that we were all born in sin, with human nature naturally selfish. Put something in a baby's hand and what do they do? It doesn’t give it back to you, instead, they take it and puts it in their mouth.

We need to be generous, because God is a generous God. During creation, God caused the water to “teem” with living creatures, he gave us “every” seed-bearing plant for food and put Adam and Eve in a Garden so big it had 4 rivers flowing through it. There are billions of galaxies, but in our one Milky Way galaxy are billions of stars. Why? Because God is a generous God. But more than that; John 3:16 tells us that even though we were still sinners, he gave his one and only Son, Jesus to die for us, in order to give us access to everlasting life with Him. And God has, for those who love him, some incredible surprises in store for us when we leave this world to be with him. God is so generous!

And God wants us to be generous just like him. So, what can we do?

Generosity is an attitude, not an amount. The Bible tells us that, “your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ.” We need to ask God for his help, as we seek to change our attitude in order that we become more generous. And that will require a change of thinking, because the way you see your life shapes your life.

Paul, who was always declaring the generosity of God, has clearly given us the answer in Philippians 4:7-9 (NIV):

“…the peace of God …will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus…. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things…And the God of peace will be with you.”  

Have a great week!

Douglas