Generosity

Acts 20:35 (New International Version, ©2010)

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.’ ”

Repetition is such a necessity for effective training. You need to be told something a number of times before it eventually takes hold and sinks in. I can't remember the number of times that I have heard the above quotation. I have endeavoured to practice this, to live out the concept in what I do and say. However, it's only over this weekend that I began to grasp some of the reasoning behind this concept.

I think part of the problem is 21st Century culture. If I am injured, society teaches us that I need to seek compensation (I did a separate post on 'Blame Culture', a while ago. See the link here). If I do something for someone, society says that I expect to get adequately compensated for the task. "You don't get something for nothing!"

Now, I look at this a little differently. I've worked in a whole host of voluntary roles for pretty much all of my life. Social clubs, Fan clubs, Advisory Councils, Committees, Scout Groups, and of course Church. If something catches my eye as being worthwhile and exciting, I'll be there, showing an interest. It's not what it earns me that motivates me. I have found this attitude causes confusion - people simply can't grasp why I could do something for nothing. It doesn't make sense to them.

At the weekend the meeting touched on the subject of sacrificial giving, as part of the launch of the Army's Self-Denial Appeal for this year. The subject matter has really challenged me to rethink my whole reasoning for giving. Not to encourage me to give - I do that anyway - but to examine why I give. Giving of your time and talents freely, and sacrificially. Giving, because there are folk out there who have so much less than you. Giving, because without your gift, they would more than likely continue to go without. Giving, and not expecting to be paid back. Giving until the pips squeak...

We have a practical example here in the incident described in Mark 12:41-43, the donation of the "Widow's Mite". In this example, Jesus told his disciples the widow had given so more than all the others. The rich folk donated only a small proportion of their wealth; the widow put in two small coins, however this was all she had.

"If not you, then who?
If not now, then when?"   - Hillel the Elder

I guess that this is a topic I'll come back to again this month. I'll leave you with this quotation:

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”  

  - John Wesley