SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS
By Chris Vidacovich
GENEROSITY
December 4, 2011
That is this month’s “Word of the Month”. Of course, the word fits December because it reminds us to not be focused on ourselves and our wants but to be focused on the needs of others. We need to have a desire to be generous to those in need.
Usually, the measure that we are generous can be determined by the measure that we feel we are blessed by God. If we feel that God has blessed us with everything that we have, we are more likely to share it with others. When we know that God provides for us, we realize that He also wants to provide for others through us.
Proverbs 11:25 teaches us that “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Whenever we are willing to be generous to others, we will find that we will feel the rewards of giving. It is true that we start out seeing someone else’s need, having a desire to meet that need and then doing something about the need. Once we do, we find out that we had a need of our own that was met. We had a need of giving ourselves to others. The person we reach out to feels refreshed but also we feel refreshed as well. Proverbs 22:9 says, “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” When we set out to bring a blessing into someone’s life, we find that God blesses us as well.
But what about those who hold back? What about the stingy, the selfish or the ones who don’t believe that they can spare what they have? They really are fairly easy to pick out: Just look at their faces. They aren’t happy. They don’t believe that they have been blessed. They are looking for a gift instead of looking for someone they can give to. And if they receive a gift, they aren’t grateful. They just feel “entitled”.
Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
The first question that may come to mind is, “Are you rich?” The answer is: “YES”. We are richer than we even realize. If you don’t feel you are financially rich (you need to be real careful with that one), you definitely are spiritually rich. Therefore, you have something to share with others. You can be rich in good deeds. You can be willing to share something very special: Yourself. Then you will lay up treasures in heaven. Then you can live the life here on earth that is “truly life” and you can look forward to heaven when you will live the life that is “TRULY LIFE!”
Open up your hearts and your eyes. Look around at the opportunities that God will place before you to be generous. Look into the lives of your family, friends, neighbors and strangers and see what they really need. You will quickly find that God has provided you with what they need so that you can feel generous and so you can feel blessed.
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely. Psalms 112:5
chrisv@cscoc.com