Generous Prosper

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. ~ Proverbs 11:25

I am glad our God is a generous God; generous in love, mercy and grace.  No matter how many times I foul up, God continues to be generous in His character.  That’s just who He is.  He can’t help it.  In the same way, followers of Jesus are called to be generous, and this doesn’t just mean with your money, or resources.  How about your time?  Are you generous with kindness, grace, forgiveness?  We tend to associate the word generosity to wealth, or financial gain, but Christ meant it as giving out of what you have.  You can be generous with other things and talents besides just money.  Giving someone a compliment, a sandwich, a ride to the store, forgiveness you may think they don’t deserve, an encouraging word – all of these are counted as generous, and when we help others, we help ourselves.  In helping others, our mood changes, we become happier, we feel a sense of joy, and might even catch ourselves smiling.  We water our souls.  When you feel a nudge to be kind, encouraging, or generous, act on it.  You cannot outgive God, and He will, in turn, bless you.  God created man to do life together and to lift each other up. There is no better way to do that than to be generous with what you have and loving people through your gifts and talents.  God doesn’t expect you to spend a ton of money, or time, but he does expect you to work with what you have.  It’s a genuine attitude of giving from the heart that God wants.  It’s a heart issue at the core; not a financial issue.  If you want to be blessed, you must bless others.  We reap what we sow.  When you plant seeds of kindness, encouragement and blessing, you will reap kindness, encouragement and blessing.  The same is true if you plant seeds of anger, bitterness and jealousy; expect to get the same crop back.  God expects His people to take care of each other as He has taken care of us.  Be a cheerful giver. ~ Amen