7 Days To Becoming A More Generous PersonSample

Generous with our money. I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. — C. S. Lewis We mentioned in day six that there are hundreds of references about money in the Bible. We can learn just about everything we need to know about this topic from it. While money is not a bad thing, the love of it most definitely is. Randy Alcorn said, “Wealth will either leave us while we live or leave us when we die. No exceptions.” Yet, even though we know we will not leave earth with money, we somehow tend to focus on accumulating it while on this earth. We acquire it in an attempt to feel more secure, to appear more important, and to expand our list of possessions. As we learn to manage our money, trusting God with the tithe is at the top of the list. The first tenth of our income is called the tithe . We return the tithe to our local church and trust God to multiply it for His glory. Many people think that tithing is being generous. It’s actually not a matter of generosity but of obedience. Tithing is simply returning what doesn’t belong to us. Since God is the owner of everything and we are merely the stewards of it, how kind of Him to allow us to steward the other 90% of our income the way we see fit. This is where generosity comes in. In order to become generous with money, we must recognize our own blessings so that we will notice the needs around us. When we see what we already have, we tend to walk in gratitude, knowing full well that what we have is more than enough. That allows our eyes to be opened and the grip on our finances to loosen so that we can become the conduit God desires to funnel His provision through to others. So, let’s start gradually increasing our percentage above 10% in order to become the generous givers that God can use. We can: * Give spontaneously. * Support ministries above our tithe. * Send a bag of supplies to a teacher. * Leave a large tip for a restaurant server. * Purchase baby items for young mothers. * Give a family a gift card to the grocery store. There really is no limit to what God can do through our obedience to Him. The more we give, the less money has a hold on our hearts. We were meant to enjoy money and things in life, not love them. Instead, we are called to love people and one of the best ways is to help meet their financial needs. Reflect * When was the last time you said no to something you wanted in order to be financially generous toward someone else? * What is something you could adjust in your monthly spending to meet others’ needs?