Are you generous?

I would like to think I am. But I know it is a big challenge for me. I want to give, to be kind, to meet the needs of others… but I enjoy having what is MINE.

How about you?

Hebrews 13:16 says, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Don’t forget….

I forget, sometimes I let “life” get in the way of thinking of others, of doing good for others, of sharing with others. Sometimes I choose me.

But when I take the time to look around, I mean really look around… when I look at people… I wonder what they need, what they are going through, what God might want me to do for them.

And then comes the really hard part: taking action.

It is easy to come up with ways that we can do good to others. The lists abound from random acts of kindness, to pay-it-forward, and simply smiling. But do we actually DO it? Sometimes it really isn’t just the thought that counts, it is the action.

And it often isn’t easy.

It means effort, it means time, it means ME going without something I want…

Hebrews 13:16 calls this: Sacrifice.

“…with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

To me, generosity is more than giving. It is easy to give money to the Salvation Army Kettle, it is easy to give canned goods to a food drive, it is easy to give our old/unwanted clothes to a clothing closet. But to be generous… that is sacrifice. To give what isn’t easy, to do what takes effort, to go without myself.

And that is what is challenging me today: generosity means sacrifice.

What is God calling you to give generously today?

~Jillene