The Mystery of Generosity: Part 1
Did you know that generosity is a grace? It’s the grace of giving. Scripture tells us that Jesus, “the only begotten of the Father” is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NKJV). Scripture also tells us that we receive “grace upon grace” from Him (John 1:16 ESV). The grace of generosity, then, is supernatural in origin as it comes from God who is the most generous and benevolent Giver of all. He loves the world so much “that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16 NKJV).
Not only is generosity supernatural in origin, but there are also things it does in us that are supernatural in orientation. This is what I call the mystery of generosity. I want to talk to you about six supernatural things that happen when we’re generous or when we operate in the grace of giving. Oftentimes, when we talk about giving, we’re focused on what our giving does for others. But I want to show you what happens to us as well as to others when we walk in generosity. In this blog, we’ll look at the first three supernatural effects of operating in the grace of giving, and in “The Mystery of Generosity, Part 2,” we’ll talk about the final three.
It’s Contagious
Generosity is contagious. When we live generous lives, it becomes contagious to those who are around us. It stirs, it inspires, and it imparts zeal for things that are important, things that are Kingdom oriented. Such zeal provokes others to give, and it even continues to inspire and provoke us. Generosity becomes contagious because we all want to be a part of something that’s making a difference.
It’s important for us to know that generosity is not just the action of giving; it’s the attitude of giving. In the natural, we think about generosity as the thing that we do. The thing that we do, however, is give. But generosity starts in the heart. It’s the overflow of wanting to be a blessing. When you are generous, you are never more like God. God is all generous. It’s part of His very character. He gave everything for us. Yes, you and I never look more like Jesus than when we step into the current of generosity. So, the first thing that generosity does inside us and inside others is it becomes contagious and sparks us and others to want to give wholeheartedly and joyfully.
It’s a Covetousness Destroyer
The second thing that generosity does is it destroys covetousness. Said another way, the antidote to covetousness is generosity. If you were bitten by a rattlesnake, you would have a limited time to get to the hospital. You would have a limited time to receive the antivenom that would destroy the snake’s venomous effects on your neurological system and on your respiration. Eventually, you would die if you did not get the antivenom. Covetousness, like the rattlesnake’s venom, requires an antivenom, and that’s called practiced generosity.
Now, what is covetousness? Well, the Tenth Commandment addresses it. God said, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbors” (Exodus 20:17 NKJV). To covet is an inordinate desire for wealth and possessions. It’s wanting to have or lusting after what someone else has. Jesus talked about covetousness. He said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15 NKJV). In other words, we need to watch out for the deceptiveness of covetousness because if we’re not on guard against it, we’ll be deceived into thinking that success in life is measured by how much we have. Furthermore, we will compare what we have to what others have. Jesus exhorted us to watch out for this.
You see, covetousness is an internal opposite. It is the counterfeit spirit to the spirit of generosity. That’s why the only antidote for it is practiced generosity. Proverbs 11:24 (ESV) tells us, “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” This is a scripture often quoted in our house as we wanted to make sure our children understood the importance of living generously. Now, the verse is not saying that the generous soul is going to be financially rich. It is promising a richness and a wealth of abundance in life and joy and peace and contentment that come when we live a life of generosity. We experience richness in this life as we keep our hands open in giving rather than closed in withholding.
It’s a Bountiful Reaper
Generosity sets into motion the laws of sowing and reaping in our lives. The Bible tells us that, what we sow, we will reap (Galatians 6:7 NKJV). This is true in the natural. But there is a spiritual law of sowing and reaping as well. The apostle Paul zeroed in on what happens when we sow. He said in 2 Corinthians 9:6 (ESV), “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” We will reap bountifully if we sow bountifully, but what is bountiful sowing?
To answer that question properly, I want to dispel what I believe is the American Christian idea of bountiful sowing. We typically think it means that we must be big givers. In the New Testament, we find a different ideal. I’m thinking of two examples of generous, bountiful givers. These two people didn’t give a lot; they just gave all. One is the little boy with his lunch—the boy who had a couple loaves of bread and some fish (see John 6:1–15 ESV). He willingly gave them to Jesus, and a multitude was fed as a result. The other example is the widow whom Jesus observed giving in the temple (see Mark 12:41–44 ESV). As Jesus was sitting by the offering bucket, watching people come and give, He saw this widow come and give the equivalent of about a penny. And Jesus had just watched people drop big money in the offering bucket. But He wasn’t impressed by any of their giving. Oh, but He was astounded at this woman’s giving! Again, it wasn’t not the size of the gift that impressed Him, but it was the size of her sacrifice. You see, she was giving 100 percent of what she had out of her poverty. Jesus noticed that.
So, the law of sowing and reaping is an immutable principle that what we give and how we give set us up for our future harvest. And it’s possible for us to be givers and not be generous. There is a difference between being a donor and being a giver. Being a donor, you have an expectation of the person that you’re giving to. You have an agenda that, if you donate to this, you get something in return. But to be a generous giver, you have Kingdom of God vision, and your expectation is in the spiritual soil that you’re investing into. And you’re trusting God to provide for you. That’s the difference. Therefore, be a bountiful sower, and you’ll be a bountiful reaper.
