As we step into the fall, we continue our exploration of different spiritual disciplines. For the month of September, our focus is generosity.
What does it mean to be generous? Often we associate this word with money. We think of making a donation to a charity, giving our tithes, or giving to a person in need. To be a generous person is something to be admired or even applauded in our culture. We see this regularly as celebrities, billionaires, and other wealthy people publicly support a cause or donate large sums of money to universities or children’s hospitals. But if this is generosity, does that mean the rest of us are off the hook? Can we live generously even with limited financial resources? And how might generosity be connected with following Jesus?
As we read Scripture, one of the characteristics of God that leaps off the page is generosity. We worship a God who is generous. God’s love is extravagant, generous, and self-giving. Think about John 3:16 for a moment- God loved the world so much that he GAVE his only son on our behalf. Giving generously is part of God’s nature, and nowhere is this more evident than in the life of Jesus. Jesus lived generously. He gave his time, his love, and ultimately his life for others. Philippians 2:5-11 sums this up nicely. Paul tells us Jesus “gave up his divine privileges” to be born as a human being and was obedient to the point of death. Jesus gave everything for us, and as his followers our lives should reflect his radical generosity.
But what does this look like lived out? This is where the spiritual discipline of generosity comes in. We begin by checking our perspective. Everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God. We are stewards of these resources- our time, money, talents, possessions, etc. Having the right perspective enables us to live more generously. If I view my time as a gift from God to use for his purposes, then I am more willing to be generous with it as my life intersects with others throughout the week.
The Practice: A Generous Life
All of this sounds great in theory. Of course we want to mirror God’s radical, extravagant generosity. But when life happens and we are faced with the reality of the finiteness of our resources, the discipline of generosity becomes much more difficult. For this reason, our practice this month is simple. We are going to read Scripture and pray.
Each week on Sunday night or Monday morning read Philippians 2:1-11. Read these words slowly and intentionally. Then, take a few minutes to journal. Reflect on Christ’s extravagant, self-giving, generous love. What does Christ’s generosity mean to you? How have you experienced his generosity over this past week? Then, reflect on the resources God has given you for the week ahead. Make a list in your journal. Pray over these resources. Ask God to give you opportunities to be generous with his gifts in the week ahead. And as you walk through the week, be sure to reflect and journal about your experience. Continue this rhythm of reading, reflecting, journaling, and intentionally living generously each week in September.
May we be transformed by God’s radical generosity as we seek to live generously this month.
