Monday, October 25, 2004

The Generosity Experiment

What if, for one solid day, we were truly generous? Not just generous with our money, but with our time, our encouragement, our patience as well? What if we took one day and gave every time someone asked for something?

Proverbs 11:24-25 read: "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

I think these verses are about more than just giving money or material possessions, although we are called upon to share those as well. God promises to refresh us--our generosity does not go unnoticed nor unrewarded. Sometimes we'll be refreshed by those who we give to; other times, that refreshing may come from another person or directly from God. But the refreshing will come.

I propose that we all take at least one day and make it an experiment in generosity. Take every opportunity you can throughout the day to be generous. Let people cut in front of you in traffic or in the grocery store line. Be generous in encouraging someone, especially someone who rarely or never encourages you in return. Help a co-worker even when you have a pile of work on your own desk.

Most importantly, throughout this experiment, look to God to supply the return. If you keep a ledger of how many times you give throughout the day how many times that you are on the receiving end, I'm willing to bet that God's generosity to you comes out ahead.

Let me know how the experiment goes, and I'll do the same...

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