Last night, before my family and I headed over to a neighbor’s for a summer cookout, I went to my garden and picked four flowers—one wide-open pink rose, another pale pink rose still in a loose bud, a deep pink peony, and a deep magenta climbing rose. I have to say they looked very striking together—simple but beautiful. I arranged them in a bud vase and brought them as a hostess gift to my friend.
The fact that these flowers are blooming, that the Japanese beetles have yet to attack them, that I have a home with a garden—all these things made me extremely grateful. I was grateful for the flowers, for the warm summer evening, for the fact my family had time together, for our long-time friends. I didn’t have to even think about it, I just felt a deep appreciation for the moment I was in. Gratitude just flowed in and through me. I breathed a prayer of thanks for all of it. And that gratitude made me feel generous—I wanted to share the flowers, share the love. We also brought wine and apple pie, again to share with our friends.
But gratitude doesn’t always just flow. Sometimes it’s a discipline. But here is the amazing thing: When we choose to be grateful, when we sit down and actually count our blessings, we find at least two things happen. We become more joyful. And when we are full of joy, we are not just partially filled. We are filled to overflowing. And that overflow of joy is not mere exuberance. It leads to the second consequence of gratitude, which is generosity.
The Bible tells us to be generous. Deuteronomy 15:10 says that we are to “give generously … and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.”
Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed” (TNIV).
Jesus’ parables and teaching often extolled the virtue of generosity and condemned those who hoarded or were selfish (see Luke 12:13-21).
Some of us feel guilty that we are not more generous. We think we ought to help the poor, we ought to care more for our neighbors. We feel we should donate to a worthy cause, we should sponsor a child, we should give more at church. But “ought” and “should” will not take us very far, unless we’re aiming at guilt.
Being more generous will help us to grow. If our aim in spiritual formation is to be formed into the image of Christ, then we will desire to be more generous because Jesus was generous. He invites us to be generous, not to earn his favor but because he knows it will transform our souls.
There are many paths to generosity. Unfortunately, having more resources is not necessarily one of them. Many people think they cannot afford to be generous. If they just had a little extra money, they would be generous. But it is simply not true. Wealthy people are not necessarily more generous than those with lesser means.
But one of the surest paths to generosity is gratitude. If you want to grow in generosity, start by being more grateful. When you believe that God has blessed you abundantly, you feel grateful. If you don’t believe he’s blessed you, but you sit down and actually start listing the blessings in your life, as a spiritual discipline, you can change your thinking, which will change the way you feel. And you will feel grateful. And grateful people are generous, because they believe that they can be. God has given to them abundantly, so it’s easy to share.
If you want more of God, believe that he’s already given you more of himself, and that he has provided more than enough for you to be generous. As Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Keri Wyatt Kent is a speaker and author of several books, including Simple Compassion: Devotions for Making a Difference in Your Neighborhood and Your World. Learn more about her ministry at keriwyattkent.com. Or connect with her on Facebook at facebook.com/keriwyattkent.
Unless otherwise indicated, the Bible verses in For Your Soul are from the New International Version.
