For thought and meditation

[rl69]

Framework for generosity

“The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.” Proverbs 11-1

How do we go about establishing a framework for generosity? First – decide that nothing you possess is your own but that everything you have belongs to God. This puts God in His place and you in yours. You are now ready to manage His possessions, not as you like but as He likes. This is real freedom. It gives you a sense of accountability to another – God. You get your life orders not from a whim, a notion, self-impulse or whatever takes your fancy, but from the One who saved you and redeemed you. Second – go over your life and see what belongs to your needs and what merely belongs to your wants. Your needs are important – God has promised to supply them – but your wants? Ah, that is another thing. You need as much as will make you fit – spiritually, physically and mentally – for the purposes of God while you are here on the earth. Beyond that, what you have belongs to the needs of others. How do you decide what belongs to your needs? No one can decide it for you – though they can make suggestions – for you are accountable to God. Go over your life item by item and ask Him for directions. Your family should figure prominently in your concerns, but you must check everything with the Lord. Third – fix it as an axiom in your mind that you will be generous to people, not for the good feelings that generosity brings, but because you are determined to bless them in some way. You must never be generous in order to get a blessing – you must be generous to be a blessing.

Prayer: Father, I am thankful that the basis of my life is fixed in You and from that I am able to build a framework for generosity. From now on help me to give with all the stops out.
In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

[buckwheatpaul]

rl69 thanks for the lesson....as we age beyond youth you do have a tendency to move from selfish me to caring for others. As God reveals more and more of the piece of pie to you you learn that he is in charge and that what you have is the result of what He has given to you. Taking stock of what you need vs. what you want is a great starting point....thanks brother and have a blessed day....Paul

[USMC87]

Amen, Great lesson.

[square butte]

Great Lesson - Thank you rl69

[Boaz]

As the lesson states all we 'have' is GOD's . We are stewards of all he has given including our time and ability to help others . Practicing stewardship is expected by him . Thank you rl69 !

[GhostHawk]

This is one place I stumble and fall. Working on it but it is not easy.

[Blackwater]

What a great post! For me, one thing it makes me mindful of is how we so typically allow our emotions/desires to enter into our decisions and judgments. If we're fearful of some folks, we'll typically find some excuse not to engage them. If we don't "understand" them or their situation, we make excuses for not engaging or helping them. "They deserve it" comes all too easily to our lips and thoughts, I fear. Whenever I hear this or something similar, I tend to remember that line from Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven," where he tells the young wannabe gunslinger who'd just said, "I guess he had it comin'," "We've ALL got it comin', son."

I also often think of G. K. Chesterton when he commented that giving to people in genuine need wan't "true" charity, but just what we naturally tend to WANT to do, if within our means to achive it. It's when we give to someone we could easily justify NOT helping that we extend real, true charity. I know I've met some beggars before who I suspected were professional panhandlers, and I just smiled, and said something to the effect of "don't con me. I know what you are. But here, here's a little something for you anyway. May the Good Lord help you see the errors of your ways, and bring you to be more than you are right now." This always brought a puzzled or incredulous look from them, and seemed, at least, to make them stop and think - which couldn't have been anything but a good thing for them at the time.

Generosity is a lot more complex and delicately shaded thing than we usually want to deal with, but if we do, there's a real blessing in it, and maybe not just for ourselves, but sometimes, for others as well. I'll never know if or whether my words and little gift meant anything to the people I've done that with, but I'm OK for that. Real charity isn't about knowing the end of our gifts. It's about just doing the best we can with what we've got to work with, and hopefully, at least trying to help someone in need, whether it was self-caused, or an act of God that brought about their needs. Just do what's right and your rewards will come. Maybe not immediately, but they'll come. It's our willingness to go upon our fellow person's errand that matters. Not whether we come to know how it all ends, that really matters. Just cast whatever "bread" you have to offer to whoever's in need, and let them know why you're doing it, and that's the end of your part in it, likely as not. Let God be God, and work out the rest with that individual.

That's become my usual and customary approach to it all, anyway. FWIW???