Authentic Generosity

I sometimes pray for more blessings in my life so that I can be more generous and more giving. That is offering out of my plenitude and abundance. I do feel a bit selfish when I am worried that I do not have enough for myself. The true test of generosity is being able to give even when there is nothing to give.

The world lionizes the rich who give substantial amounts to charity. There are billionaires who have pledged most of their billions to philanthropy. There are also billionaires who give a mere pittance of their fortune to charity. Often, the most generous souls are those who can least afford to give. But even out of the little they have, they always manage to give something because generosity lives int heir hearts.

I pray for a generosity of spirit, a spirit willing to walk an extra mile with anyone who needs presence and company, a spirit that will inspire me to give even my cloak should someone ask for a shirt, to give without counting the cost, to share with out expecting anything in return, to do good anonymously with my right hand not knowing what my left hand is giving away.

Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
~Psalm 24

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, “I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”
Luke 21:1-4