Practice Generosity :: Session 1
In November our evening service, Practice, is working the theme and spiritual practice of Generosity.
Here’s what we did this past week:
Practice Time: Holy Conversations
“13A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.” 14Jesus answered him, “Friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?” 15And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.” 16Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops. 17He began to think to himself, “I don’t have a place to keep all my crops. What can I do? 18This is what I will do,’ he told himself; “I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and all my other goods. 19Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ 20But God said to him, “You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’ ” 21And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God’s sight.” Luke 12:13-21.
“The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.” ― Lao Tzu
“If truth doesn’t set you free, generosity of spirit will.” ― Katerina Stoykova Klemer
expaninding your practice at home
Here is the amazing thing. You can use your stuff to worship God. Your stuff is really God’s stuff and He can do with it whatever He wants. When you invest your stuff in the kingdom of God, you start to put God before your stuff. By being generous with your stuff, you are aligning your heart with the heart of God. Here are some simple tips and steps for developing a discipline of being generous with God’s stuff.
- Tip #1: Make it a priority. You’re not going to be generous until you make it a priority.
- Tip #2: Have a budget. You won’t know what to give until you know what you have.
- Tip #3: Give first
- Tip #4: Have a separate checking account.
- Tip #5: Give first and ask questions later. Now this might sound like you’re to give money to anyone on the street who asks you for it, but this is different. What this means is that we have the tendency to ask the question “Why?” Why should I be generous with my time and money? The reality of it is that you can’t understand the answer to that question until you start being generous.
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