Giving and Generosity

I like the word generosity. I don't know what that word brings to your mind, but I see faces. I think of people who have been generous with me. I think of people who have consistently demonstrated a life of generosity. Every person that comes to my mind is someone I have liked, even if I didn't know them very well or maybe at all. Their generosity spoke volumes about who they were.

 I may think of the concept of generosity differently than others. It is my impression that most people might associate generosity with money, or the giving of money. That certainly is one aspect of generosity, but certainly a small part. There are so many ways to be generous. Money sometimes confuses and complicates what generosity really is. It can sometimes get in the way. When I think of generous people who have influenced my life, very few if any that I can remember ever gave me money. I have certainly received some things, but what they represent is more than the thing or any monetary value.

 As I think about it, not many of the people who I think of as generous were people you would consider to be rich or wealthy. They for the most part were or are just average in terms of how much they had or the kind of lifestyle they lived. They were people who liked to give, it was part of who they were. They gave time. They gave compliments. They gave encouragement. They gave a listening ear. They gave an example that I admired. They gave friendship.

 You cannot be a generous person without giving. Generosity is measured by what we give. The great thing is that generosity is not only measured by giving money and things, but by giving who you are. It is those people who give as an expression of their lives, their concern for others, their desire to help that I think of as generous. I have Sunday School teachers in my church who are incredibly generous people. The time they devote to teaching and making a difference is amazing. I know people who spend time with people who can't get out much but just like to be a friend or help out a little. I have a number of people who encourage me often, they may not realize it at the time, maybe they just show up or express something that they may not realize the significance of to me.

I want to be a generous person. I continually have to think beyond myself, my own needs, wants and desires and remind myself that generosity cannot come without giving. I must give part of myself, I must give what others need, I must give what God tells me to give, but I must give. It's a journey that many people are much further along than I am, but I am inspired by what they do and I want to be like them.