Recently, I felt hurt by some one close. She chose not to help me when I needed her most. I tried to let it go, but my mind kept rehearsing the situation. That is, until I stopped myself with this: “Stop focusing on the bad and be grateful for the good.” In minutes, the cloud lifted.
Christmas is the perfect time for us to practice generosity. I’m not just talking about giving gifts although that’s a wonderful way to show love. We can seek to become more generous hearted. I want to overlook wrongs and believe the best. That’s what love does.
Generous thoughts
Proverbs 11:25 says, “The generous soul will be made rich.” Our soul is our mind, our will and our emotions. It is our thoughts, our choices and our feelings. This verse is talking about the blessings that come to those who are generous in heart. Those who have generous thoughts, make generous choices and have generous feelings towards others.
The dictionary definition of generosity is: “liberal in giving; sharing; unselfish; free from meanness of mind.” My husband is very generous with his time. He always offers people lifts and goes the extra mile even when he is stretched. My closest friend is generous with mercy, always believing the best about everybody. Generous people are wonderful to be around. They overlook the flaws and failings of others, and are quick to forgive.
It’s the law!
King David even made generosity a law in 1 Samuel 30! He and his men were on their way to war but some were too tired to continue so they stayed with the bags. When David returned from victory, some of those who fought to the end wanted to keep the rewards to themselves.
In contrast, David insisted that everyone should have an equal share in the winnings: both those who stayed behind and those who fought. He then decided to make it the law for future battles. David was demonstrating generosity of heart. He wanted everyone to be blessed by his victory.
Practice
We get the chance to practice generosity every time a restaurant server makes a mistake with our order or when the supermarket cashier is slow. We have the opportunity to be generous when co-workers let us down or when our team fall short.
I want to encourage you this Christmas to be generous in spirit. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us be free from all mean thoughts, mean choices and mean feelings. According to Proverbs 11:25, that will lead to true riches.
If you would like God to do a wonderful work on the inside and make you more like Him, I encourage you to close this year and start 2019 with my book 30 Day Detox for your Soul. It will help you get your heart right and ready for success.
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