For years I did not realize that generosity is a spiritual quality. When I thought of spiritual qualities, I thought of words like peace, faith and joy – and those are spiritual qualities for sure. But what I now realize is that generosity is a key factor in all expressions of faith.
Generosity is part of the character and nature of God. He is generous in His love for us. He is generous in His compassion and His grace and mercy.
For us to be forgiving of others it requires generosity. For us to be accepting of others it requires generosity. To build honest, intimate and long-term relationships it requires generosity. To give help to the poor – it requires generosity. For us to fulfill God’s purpose for our life – it will require generosity of our soul.
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:25 NIV
I think the generosity that God desires is generosity of the heart, which can be seen by our actions. Actions by themselves can be a good start toward producing a more generous heart.
20 Ways To Be Generous
- Brag about someone to others, while they are standing there listening.
- Volunteer time to serve your community or Oasis Church’s Community Outreach.
- Buy a gift card and carry it with you waiting for the right person to give it to.
- Give a dollar to a homeless person. This could be as important for you as it is for them.
- Buy a pair of shoes (possibly on sale) and give them away to person who needs them or donate old shoes to Soles4souls.org.
- Call someone just to say “Thanks”
- Give $20 to GenerosityWater.org or volunteer to serve.
- Ask someone, “Is there anything I can pray for you about?” Pray and then begin a plan to provide some of the answer.
- Pay a bill for someone who could use the help.
- When someone compliments you about something you have, give it to them.
- When standing in a check out line, put some money into one of the reputable organizations that have a non-profit container.
- Save coins for a month or two and then give it to a special organization.
- Most grocery stores sell nonperishable food for the local food bank at the register. Purchase a few cans or boxes.
- Clean someone’s house or apartment for free.
- Wash someone’s car.
- Babysit for someone so they can go run errands or have a date night.
- Go to a Senior Citizen’s home and visit.
- Give a Bible to someone.
- Donate your hair to Locks of Love. They make wigs for sick children.
- Gather up your, “I just don’t need to own this ” DVD’s and donate them to a senior center or a nursing home.
The more you practice generosity, the more it will become natural. Hopefully, you will eventually love it.
But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8 NIV
What are your ideas about how we can practice generosity?
