Generosity Comes Back to You in Abundance
Most people, if you ask them, would like to live an abundant life. The one where their needs are met, they can indulge in hobbies, and they don’t have to worry about paying rent, feeding their family, or heating the house. Wealth and abundance can mean different things to different people; for some it’s a buttload of money and being rich, for others its being comfortable and taken care of.
Regardless of which side you’re on, God promises us that to get to that abundance, we should be generous.
Refresh Others to be Refreshed
If you struggle with daily meditation and reading your Bible daily, here’s a little tip that I learned years ago from one of the leaders at my church. The book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. Half of the months have 31 days. Just pick up the good book, flip to the chapter that corresponds with the date, and bada-bing, you have your reading for the day.
In Proverbs 11, we get a bunch of really great snippets on how we can structure our lives. Verse 25 tells us, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25 NIV). Later in the book, we also learn a little more about being generous. Chapter 19 talks about being generous to the poor and God will repay you; I wrote about this concept nearly a decade ago – check it out.
What we see is that the number one way to bring yourself up is to be generous, help others, breathe life into people and encourage them. What goes around, comes around and generosity is always rewarded.
Open Handed Versus Closed Handed
Around the same time as my previous blog post about being generous to the poor, I learned an interesting concept from Danny Wyrwas. He explained that when you are given something, you have two ways of holding onto it. You can close your fist around it, keeping it secure and nobody else can snatch it from you. Or, you can turn your hand over, palm up, and keep it in your possession that way.
In the second option, someone in need can come and take what you have. But others can also come and add to what you already have. In the first option, nobody can take what’s yours, but it won’t be added to either.
When we all work together, support each other, and refresh one another, we all do better.
Claiming God’s Promise of Prosperity
At the beginning of chapter 11, we learn that God hates dishonest scales; he calls them an abomination.
By the end of the chapter, we are encouraged to be generous. Not just with our money, but our time, our gifts, and our talents.
So, I encourage you to look at your own life. How are you being generous? Where are you being stingy? What can you do better so you can claim God’s promise that he’ll repay your generosity and reward you for breathing life into others?
Let Me be Generous to You
I’m a writer. My entire job is to create words (kind of like what you’re reading here). And I want to breathe some life into you and your business. So, I’m going to be generous and I have two offers you claim.
First, I’ll review your website and tell you what looks good, what you’re doing right, and where things can be improved upon.
Second, I’ll write you five blogs, for free (that’s about $1,000 value).
In return, all I ask is that you pay it forward. Help others, encourage others, share your time, talents, and gifts. And, if you like my writing, I wouldn’t mind if you hired me to keep working on your website.
Schedule a time on my calendar to claim your freebies.