We all have our little addictions. Shows we binge, social media scrolling, must have treats when anxiety looms large. Not to mention the daily chains of caffeine or our subtle draw to the newest book release. Pelted by advertising and societal pressures, conditioning us to the expectation we “deserve” more. But what if we chose living a bit more counter-culturally? What if the blessing of a generous heart stole first place on our desire hit list?
The blessing of a generous heart shines forth in the excellence of loving God and loving others with our entire being.
Though discussion on generosity often creates pictures of financial giving, generosity flows much deeper than simply giving a tithe or writing a check to charity. An attitude of the heart, generosity is demonstrated through love.
The Blessing of Giving
While financial giving certainly represents a generous heart, each day presents a myriad of options for loving God and loving others well through the generosity of giving.
Choosing to give of our time, talents or resources to family, friends, colleagues, even strangers reminds us of our connectedness.
A simple act of kindness in offering our full attention to someone in active listening or helping a colleague on a project returns abundant blessing both to the giver and receiver.
“ In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Nothing brings more Joy to my heart than giving. First in line to help, donate, serve; giving is my secret addiction. No other spiritual discipline spurs growth or lights up my soul like exercising my generous heart.
The Blessing of Self-less Love
Often misunderstood, loving selflessly simply means putting others first. Jesus demonstrated this when He walked the earth. Living a life of prioritizing the needs of His disciples, the crowds, and those who came to Him for healing, He never neglected His own needs.
Fulfillment and a deep sense of Joy accompany the blessing of self-less love as we choose serving others from a heart full of love for God.
In no way do we neglect our own needs to love and serve others, to the contrary, Jesus taught we must love others in the same way we love and serve ourselves.
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Apart from false humility, we all more than meet our basic human needs on a regular basis. The blessing of self-less love simply seeks an others first attitude rather than culture’s “me first” attitude.
Living From the Posture of a Generous Heart
Loving God and loving others well through generosity looks different for everyone and may even look different each day. Cultivating a generous heart begins with a shift of perspective.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus, the very Son of God deserved to be served! Yet He humbled Himself becoming an obedient servant to all (Philippians 2:8) as a demonstration of what God’s love looks like. Modeling for His disciples and us the posture of a generous heart.
3 Ways of Living Generously
- Surrender your agenda. Holding tight to our schedule, plans, or desires for our days straps us rigidly to expected outcomes. Instead, surrender your agenda to God, asking Him how He desires you to spend your time daily.
- Spend your time wisely. Hoarding your time for your own use starves your soul. Instead, look for ways to spend time enriching the lives of family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, even strangers!
- Search for ways to bless others. God’s blessings to you are a channel of His love never meant to end with you. Search for ways to keep the channel open by using your material blessings to bless others thus extending God’s love to them.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mother Teresa
The Blessing of a Generous Heart
Nourishing our souls, acts of generous kindness, compassion, and self-less love move us closer to the heart of God, as we become conformed to the image of Christ.
As we generously share ourselves with others in service, we also build strong, caring relationships, bringing healing and hope to those in need.
Ultimately, the blessing of a generous heart is its power to transform not only us, but those we love and serve. Embracing a generous spirit, we deepen our relationship with God as we fulfill our purpose in becoming His hands and feet to those around us.
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Kindness is love expressed from a generous heart, Donna.
Thank you, Lisa! We can all use more kindness!
Donna, thank you for your beautiful article. Oh to love our neighbors as Jesus did. But we can – through all the ways you show us here with generous hearts.
Thank YOU Deborah for reading. One of my greatest joys is to exercise my generous heart!
Donna, you have made so many wonderful points. I have often felt that writing the check is the easiest way to be generous. It is the giving of our time, our selves, and our attention which often demands the greater sacrifice of us. It is also the way we receive the greater blessing of joy. Wonderful post!
Thank you, Joanne for taking the time to read my post! I loved lingering with generosity outside of money…so much to love here.