The Blessing of a Generous Heart
We all have our little addictions. Shows we binge, social media scrolling, must have treats when anxiety looms large. Not to mention the daily chains of caffeine or our subtle draw to the newest book release. Pelted by advertising and societal pressures, conditioning us to the expectation we “deserve” more. But what if we chose living a bit more counter-culturally? What if the blessing of a generous heart stole first place on our desire hit list?
The blessing of a generous heart shines forth in the excellence of loving God and loving others with our entire being.
Though discussion on generosity often creates pictures of financial giving, generosity flows much deeper than simply giving a tithe or writing a check to charity. An attitude of the heart, generosity is demonstrated through love.
The Blessing of Giving
While financial giving certainly represents a generous heart, each day presents a myriad of options for loving God and loving others well through the generosity of giving.
Choosing to give of our time, talents or resources to family, friends, colleagues, even strangers reminds us of our connectedness.
A simple act of kindness in offering our full attention to someone in active listening or helping a colleague on a project returns abundant blessing both to the giver and receiver.
“ 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.”
Nothing brings more Joy to my heart than giving. First in line to help, donate, serve; giving is my secret addiction. No other spiritual discipline spurs growth or lights up my soul like exercising my generous heart.
The Blessing of Self-less Love
Often misunderstood, loving selflessly simply means putting others first. Jesus demonstrated this when He walked the earth. Living a life of prioritizing the needs of His disciples, the crowds, and those who came to Him for healing, He never neglected His own needs.
Fulfillment and a deep sense of Joy accompany the blessing of self-less love as we choose serving others from a heart full of love for God.
In no way do we neglect our own needs to love and serve others, to the contrary, Jesus taught we must love others in the same way we love and serve ourselves.
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Apart from false humility, we all more than meet our basic human needs on a regular basis. The blessing of self-less love simply seeks an others first attitude rather than culture’s “me first” attitude.
Living From the Posture of a Generous Heart
Loving God and loving others well through generosity looks different for everyone and may even look different each day. Cultivating a generous heart begins with a shift of perspective.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus, the very Son of God deserved to be served! Yet He humbled Himself becoming an obedient servant to all (Philippians 2:8) as a demonstration of what God’s love looks like. Modeling for His disciples and us the posture of a generous heart.
3 Ways of Living Generously
- Surrender your agenda. Holding tight to our schedule, plans, or desires for our days straps us rigidly to expected outcomes. Instead, surrender your agenda to God, asking Him how He desires you to spend your time daily.
- Spend your time wisely. Hoarding your time for your own use starves your soul. Instead, look for ways to spend time enriching the lives of family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, even strangers!
- Search for ways to bless others. God’s blessings to you are a channel of His love never meant to end with you. Search for ways to keep the channel open by using your material blessings to bless others thus extending God’s love to them.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mother Teresa
The Blessing of a Generous Heart
Nourishing our souls, acts of generous kindness, compassion, and self-less love move us closer to the heart of God, as we become conformed to the image of Christ.
As we generously share ourselves with others in service, we also build strong, caring relationships, bringing healing and hope to those in need.
Ultimately, the blessing of a generous heart is its power to transform not only us, but those we love and serve. Embracing a generous spirit, we deepen our relationship with God as we fulfill our purpose in becoming His hands and feet to those around us.
tell his story link up
I am thrilled to be the new host of Tuesday’s Tell His Story Link up! Jeanne Takenaka and I share the link up on alternate weeks, with Jeanne hosting the first and third Tuesdays, as well as the occasional fifth Tuesday, and my hosting the second and fourth Tuesdays!
Each week we gather here as storytellers, word weavers, and encouragers to make His name known. Our story is God’s story and this small corner of the blogging world, where we come together each Tuesday, needs you.
This is a place where poetry, snapshots, prayers, and stories find a safe spot to nod in agreement that what we have to say matters. I am glad you are here and would love to have you join the #TellHisStory community!
Click over here to read more about the #TellHisStory community and find a button to add to your site.
