Generosity Changes Everything

By Brian Henson (written April 2014)As you probably know, we are in the middle of the Thriving Generosity Initiative here at St. Patrick. In case you’re wondering what in the world that is, let me bring you up to speed. A generosity initiative is like a capital campaign, but with a much broader long-term goal. While a capital campaign is basically about raising funds for a major project, a generosity initiative has the additional—and more fundamental—goal of helping folks draw closer in their walk with Jesus by helping them develop lifestyles of extravagant generosity. And before we go any further, let me define what I mean by “generosity.” It goes something like this: generosity is giving sacrificially—our time, our money, our talents and abilities—out of love for someone else. It is interested in their good, not just our own. Further, this type of generosity isn’t rooted in mere philanthropy or altruism; it’s not simply about finding great examples of generous people and following their lead (though that’s part of it). True generosity is rooted in God; he is the first and most generous giver. He is the very definition of generosity; it’s his idea, because it is a reflection of his glorious, beautiful, generous character, most clearly displayed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Now that we’re on the same page, let me share a little about my “generosity experience” thus far.I don’t know about you, but generosity has not always come easily for me. In fact, there are many times that I have been downright stingy with most every gift God has given me. So a time of concentrated reflection upon generosity has, for me at least, been painful, but it’s also been good. Here’s what I mean. As I have read about, prayed about, and discussed God’s generosity over these last several weeks, it has forced me to look at myself. How could I—a recipient of so much kindness, so much lavish goodness, so much generosity —not be generous as well? I have seen areas of selfishness, greed, pride, and idolatry in my heart that I didn’t even know were there. Ouch. However, while seeing my sin has been painful, it’s been a “good pain,” a pain of conviction that will, by God’s grace, lead to long-term repentance, and the joy, hope and peace that comes with it.There are a couple of other reasons why thinking through generosity has been really good for me. The first, and most important, reason is that by looking at God’s generous love for me, it has made me love him more. As I have considered more deeply what he has done for me in Jesus, it has driven me to praise and worship. As I reflect upon all the blessings he has showered upon me—all ultimately flowing from Jesus—I have been moved to gratitude, which, by its nature, displaces pride and replaces it with joy. Now don’t get me wrong—I’ve still got a long way to go. Just the other day, it only took one $300 trip to the vet with my dog to have me throwing my keys out in front of Collierville Pet Hospital and blaming God for taking “my money”! But hey, He’s not done with me yet, so there is hope!Here is the other reason focusing upon our generous God has been so good. While I’m not as generous as I should be, I have started to think more about how to be generous toward others. It’s happening in fits and starts, to be sure, and I don’t always know exactly how to exercise generosity when opportunity presents itself. For instance, a few weeks ago, somebody gave me $20. It wasn’t a gift; he actually owed it to me, though it had been so long, I had totally forgotten about it. I told him not to worry about it, but he insisted. So, I had an extra twenty in my wallet at the end of the day. On the way home, I stopped by Wal-Mart, and as I was walking in, a family walked in just in front of me. From the way they were dressed, it was clear they didn’t have much money. I walked on into the store, and it turned out that we were shopping in the same section. After a moment, the thought hit me, “You should give them that $20.” So, I walked over into another aisle, took out the bill and folded it and asked the Lord to help me know how to give it to them in a way that didn’t look weird or patronizing. Then, I dove in. I walked around the corner and discreetly gave the money to the husband and said something like, “Hey, y’all. I know this is weird, but somebody gave me this $20 earlier today, and I just want to bless you. Here you go.” The husband broke out in this humbled, somewhat bewildered smile, but the wife was a different story. She gave me a look that was a mixture of, “How dare you?” and “What in the world are you doing?” To keep the awkwardness at bay, I just said, “Have a nice day, and be a blessing to somebody else,” and took off to the other side of the store so I wouldn’t run back into them.Did I do it “right” that day? I have no idea. I am sure there is a lot I could have done differently. But at least I was thinking about it, and the thoughts actually converted into action, so that’s a start. My prayer is that the Lord will do more of that sort of thing with me in the future. Since he’s the God of generosity, I have the feeling that’s a prayer he’ll answer.All this wraps back around to the initial catalyst of the Thriving initiative—building a permanent facility on our property at White and Byhalia. This project has everything to do with generosity—God’s generosity. With a new facility, more and more people will have the opportunity to hear the gospel—the ultimate proclamation of God’s generous love to people like us. People will come to love God, they will praise Jesus, and they will honor the Holy Spirit with their worship. God’s generosity will move whole new groups of people to gratitude, thanksgiving and joy. More and more people will have their hearts changed in such a way that they look for ways to be generous to their friends, neighbors and complete strangers in such a way that their homes, neighborhoods and workplaces will be forever changed…and we’ll all have stories to tell one day about how God’s generosity has changed us.