What it means to be generous

The words “generous and generosity appear in the Bible about 20-25 times, depending on which version of the Bible you are reading.  It does not appear in the King James Version, but the words or phrases “willing heart, merciful, someone who lends, liberal soul, giving of your bounty,” etc., appear.

I think “generosity” is most often associated with giving of money, and granted, giving of our finances is one way to be generous; whether we are giving to an individual, our church, or our favorite charity.  But there are so many other ways to be generous.  I’ve listed a few ways below that I have been pondering, and you can probably come up with more.

1. Giving of our time.  Sometimes just spending time with someone who is hurting is more beneficial than something monetary.  We can “donate” our time to assist someone, help a friend move, assist a new mom, babysit for someone who is ill or has a family emergency.
2. Giving of our gifts or talents.  God has seen fit to endow each of us with different abilities.  Some are musical, some have great voices, some have technical abilities, some are gifted in organizing. Rom. 12: 6-8 lists the following gifts:  Prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing, leadership and showing mercy.  We can be generous with our talents and use them for God’s glory. This also includes the giving of time.
3. Hospitality. Taking a meal to someone who is ill, just had surgery, or a senior citizen who is shut in are all ways to be generous.  Or inviting a new person at church for lunch.  To illustrate the life-changing effects this can have, I share the following story:  My husband, Ted, was asked to perform the wedding ceremony of a young lady who lived down the road from us when we pastored a church in Plummer, Idaho.  The following Sunday her brother came to our Sunday church service.  He said as Ted prayed for the newly wedded couple, he sensed that Ted was a man who knew who he was talking to.  That Sunday, one of the families in the church, invited him to go home with them for lunch.  This formed a friendship, and he continued to attend church, accepted Jesus into his life and went on to attend Bible College.  He told me later that if that family had not invited him for lunch, he would not have returned to church.  Today that young man, now no longer young, is the dean of a Bible College in Canada.
4. Giving of our natural abilities such as sewing, mechanics, cooking, etc.  I used Dorcas in the New Testament as an example of how little things are shown to be important, but it fits in the generosity category too.  She used a needle and thread to make clothing for people in need.  What ability do you have that you can be generous with and bless people?  If you have bookkeeping abilities, helping a young couple set up a budget can be an act of generosity.

Col. 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” This should be the attitude behind all of our generosity, whether it’s monetary, giving of talents, time or our abilities.

Naomi Brinkman