“…generosity, the journey of learning how to give. When we feel inadequate and unworthy, we hoard things. We are so afraid—afraid of losing, afraid of feeling even more poverty-stricken than we do already. This stinginess is extremely sad. We could look into it and shed a tear that we grasp and cling so fearfully. This holding on causes us to suffer greatly. We wish for comfort, but instead we reinforce aversion, the sense of sin, and the feeling that we are a hopeless case. The causes of aggression and fear begin to dissolve by themselves when we move past the poverty of holding back. So the basic idea of generosity is to train in thinking bigger, to do ourselves the world’s biggest favor and stop cultivating our own scheme. The more we experience fundamental richness, the more we can loosen our grip.” (Chodron, Pema. When Things Fall Apart (Shambhala Classics) (p. 130). Shambhala. Kindle Edition.)

How would you define generosity?  Would you define it only in monetary terms? Or would you include other areas of giving, like time, talents, and gifts? To have a generous heart is to be willing to give – in many areas of your life, in many different expressions of your life – and not just in monetary terms.

I preach at a lot of funerals. One of the consistent themes I hear from families as they talk about their loved ones, is that the deceased was “generous”. What does that mean? I have determined they mean many things by that word generous. Some mean that the person would help out anyone in the family who needed something – including giving them money or being there to help them if they were moving. Other times being generous meant they would help out the poor, give money to the homeless who asked, donated money to the church and other charities. Other times they meant that someone was generous with their time – if someone needed someone to talk to, they would be there, or they went to visit shut-ins or other family who might be in a nursing home. 

Showing generosity can manifest itself in so many ways. But for the person who has the gift of generosity, they have a heart to always be generous. And this is why it is a gift. We all have moments when we are generous, but we pick and choose our places and times. Having a heart of generosity, having the gift of generosity means living to be generous, or as Pema Chodron says, we “walk the journey of learning how to give.”  I believe this is one of the gifts we can live into – that everyone can learn how to develop a heart of generosity.

Pastor Dave