When I say ‘generosity,’ what do you think of?
For me, I often think about what I do with my money and my mind slowly strays to a feeling of guilt. What got me thinking more constructively about generosity as a lifestyle was this incident that happened a few weeks ago;
Two friends of mine, both in their teens and who live on the Alton Estate in Roehampton (a large council estate in London), were on a bus. Now, they are both pretty tall muscular guys with shaved heads. As they get off the bus, a lady who had been on the bus with them boldly announced, ‘You know you are both going to hell, don’t you.’ One replied, ‘what do you mean?’ ‘Do you believe in heaven and hell?’ she asked. ‘Yeah, I guess so,’ one of them replied. The lady continued, ‘have you ever stolen something?’ They replied, ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you ever looked at a woman lustfully?’ ‘Yeah.’ This went on for a couple more sins before the woman concluded, ’so you’re going to hell then.’ At this, one of the guys replied, ‘Yeah, I guess we are going to hell then.’ And they walked off.
What’s this got to do with generosity, you may rightly ask? Whilst the lady had courage and zeal, to me, she lacked a generous spirit. I’m reminded that generosity is a state of being that is outworked in how we behave towards others, how we view people and how we talk to them.
In some ways I see myself in the lady in the story. Jesus’ generosity has changed my life, yet I can often find it hard to live with this same generosity. This makes me more amazed by Jesus. I love this little anecdote that Shane Claiborne tells;
‘It was a busy day in heaven as folks waited in line at the pearly gates. Peter stood as gatekeeper, checking each newcomer’s name in the Lamb’s book of life. But there was some confusion because numbers weren’t adding up. Heaven was a little overcrowded, and a bunch of folks unaccounted for. So some of the angels were sent to investigate. And it wasn’t long before two of them returned. ‘We found the problem,’ they said. ‘Jesus is out back, lifting people up over the gate.’
Jesus’ followers are known (or should be), in part, as a generous people - outrageously generous. They take on and embody Jesus’ generosity to those they know. What does this generosity look like? Well, Jesus didn’t really have any financial resources. But he was lavish with his life, his time, his heart, his love.
So when I think of practising generosity, I know that at the centre of it is becoming like Jesus - living life like I’m metaphorically giving people a leg up over the wall into heaven. And when I think about that, I realise there is no limit to generosity, just opportunity.
ACTION POINTS:
1. Think of one person you have the opportunity to be generous with today.
2. Do something lavish for them.
