Catch The Spirit of Generosity!

Remember when you received a free gift?  Not just that gift you got when you signed up for your bank account or other subscription-based club. What did you feel when someone just surprised you with that one special gift that you didn't earn or deserve?

Generosity is becoming a popular theme!  It is a major theme today in churches and other community organizations. We are encouraged to give not out of obligation but out of good will. It is a good feeling to give when no one tells you that you have to. When it is spontaneous it is meaningful. Surprises are fun! It is like a rainbow that demonstrates grace and hope. A Biblical sign from God that reinforces the covenant God gave all people. He blessed us so we can bless others. 

I am writing this entry from both a personal experience as well as a reminder for all of us to act with grace and with generosity. It is both practical and Biblical. It included the highly relational as well as touching our very soul. It brings joy and energy in all we do and say. It is like an energy drink that is infused with vitamin enriching qualities that are also enriching to the soul. It is like a spiritual revival to the soul.

Being generous does something to our physical body as well. In the very act of giving releases something in our brain that like a drug. Studies have shown this to me true. Read this article. 

We are commanded to be people who give more than we take. It is not only a Biblical command to give but also a societal norm. It is called reciprocity; an act that causes others to give as well. We are made to be givers. Check this out! These Truths are timeless! 

Recently someone shares a gift with me. It was a spontaneous act! It showed me something that God needed me to know. It also caused me to have a spirit of giving. It is contagious - like a germ that generates an ongoing impact. It spreads like a germ that can be fatally - compassionate. 

Generous people are thankful people. They find ways to praise God for what He has provided. They see the best in people. They see potential in people and desire to invest in their lives. They choose to enrich people. 

I have been reading lately the book, “I Like Giving” by Brad Formsma. It’s a book filled with stories and practical ideas for how to be generous. In the book, the author says the following:

Living generously is about giving your life to other people so that everything you do – whether it is your work, your charitable giving, or your contribution to your neighborhood – becomes both a gift to others and rewarding yourself.

It is an attitude that always hopes and chooses to believe in people that make them generous. They realize that it is not about themselves! It is about others. 

The benefit to one’s self is the feeling that you get when you help another. With no expectations for a return on investment or treating it as a loan with expectations that someone will return with payment. Generous people see their acts of kindness as simply a gift!