Generosity

I got out of the habit of blogging daily and now I'm struggling to get back into the flow of things... I'm sure theres a lesson in that!!!

Generosity. Simon Moetara touched briefly on this topic during his sermon on Mission tonight (well last night now as when i tried to post this the internet disappeared from my network???) and it sparked something within me thats been building and simmering in the back of my mind and heart for a while.

What is generosity?

1.	readiness or liberality in giving.

2.	freedom from meanness or smallness of mind or character.

3.	a generous act: We thanked him for his many generosities.

4.	largeness or fullness; amplitude.

To be generous we need first to believe we have something of value and secondly we need to believe we can actually spare some of that for the sake of others. We can't give what we don't believe we have. This comes back then to perception. Truth is we are all wealthy if we can sit down at a computer and read a blog let alone write one or comment on one. This means we have the money required to access a computer, the education required to use one, the time to use it (time being a huge luxury in the Western world particularly) and the time to study / think / pray about what we write about. However generosity is by no means limited to things of worldly value.

To me a big part of being a Christian and becoming more Christ like is wanting to spend time with others sharing, praying, consoling, encouraging, teaching etc etc. I really get frustrated when I see my friends unwilling and uncomfortable in offering to do the same things. To be honest it used to make me quite angry - their lack of apparent willingness to just 'get over themselves' and help minister to someone else.

Then I had somewhat of a revelation.

My friends were unwilling to pray etc not so much out of lack of will but rather out of poor perception. They were so focused on their own faults and failures and the struggles of their own walks with God that they could not see the comparable feast they had to share with others. Its a truly sad thing when we become so inward focused that we can't see the extreme poverty our neighbours are experiencing yet we are all guilty of this - both in terms of physical nourishment (eg Africa etc) and spiritual nourishment (our neighbours, our city, our nation and our world!).

When we hold back from mentioning God and offering to pray for someone experiencing hard times we are refusing to even offer scraps from our table to the starving. Even if we ourselves are only eating bread and drinking water this is a feast to those who have nothing! Comparison of ourselves with others can be a dangerous thing leading to pride and boasting however if we never even consider the condition of others we are guilty of turning blind eyes. Even if we are going through the hardest time and feel we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death God is able and willing to partner with us in reaching out to others. Its about our perception. If we believe that what we have is so little that it is not worth sharing or that we cannot afford to part with any of it then we won't share. If we believe that what we have is very little yet also know that this little amount has changed our lives and has the power to change others we will then share it with others in the hope that it might help someone.

As a leader I don't come to every Sunday service feeling incredible and amazing and in perfect relationship with God. However in spite of my situation I know that what I have is life changing and of incredible value. I pray and minister out of the assurance that God works with and through me and accordingly I ALWAYS have something to pass on to others. I have learnt that generosity of spirit is a mindset... do you have it?!?