Photo: Grand Canyon National Park taken December 2015.
About 5 years ago, I was traveling from Nebraska to Houston after visiting my family. I stopped in Salina, Kansas at a Wal-Mart. This stop was mainly because I had to go to the bathroom, but I also grabbed some snacks for the rest of the trip. I was checking out when I realized that I had left my wallet in the car. I was a little frustrated with myself and I told the employee to set my stuff to the side and I would be right back in. The lady behind me heard my story and told me to forget about it and that she would get it. She specifically told me, "It's fine, just do it for someone else in the future." I thanked her multiple times and left the store and drove the rest of the way to Houston. This story has always stuck with me, because the lady behind me was willing to spend her hard earned money on me. I am still grateful today for her selflessness and her generosity.
Five years after this event, I still remember how important it was to me. This happened while I was still struggling with money and it was one of those moments that I probably needed a little help. And things like this tend to happen when you need it the most. Generosity is one of the greatest things that we can give with our time or even our money. The Lord calls for us to be generous and this calling is a calling of faith. How faithful are you? Do you trust in the Lord to provide, when you give away the money that you earned? Remember from a previous article, the Lord owns everything (even our money). And the bible speaks to the fact that he will provide for those who give.
““One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.””
Now, I am not saying that when you give, that you will automatically be given a bunch of money. Also, this does not mean that everything will go right in your life. That promise from the Lord is that at some point you will be blessed from giving. And this giving has been a blessing to my wife and I. Last year, we donated 10% of our income and still our net worth grew 90%. It was a pretty good year for us and the Lord has blessed our household.
So, if you have never donated any money, try to find an organization that you care about to support. My wife and I donate to our church and other organizations. Donations don't have to be monetary, but can be donating your time also. Don't forget:
““In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’””
There is an amazing feeling that one gets from giving and it is nothing more than the feeling that you were able to help somebody out in need. Dave Ramsey states in his book, The Legacy Journey, "Generous giving is the antidote of selfishness." Generosity is the true act of selflessness. If only we could all worry about ourselves a little less and worry about the less fortunate a little more.
Generosity was a topic on my mind, because of a message that my pastor gave recently at Houston's First Baptist Church. You can watch the message below.
