What comes to mind when you think of the word generosity? Do you think about someone who gives lots of money to charity? A generous tipper or a friend who picks up the check for dinner more often than others?
Or does generosity spark thoughts of a person in your life who is always ready to give – not just their money, but whatever resources they have? Things like time, shelter, food, a listening ear, or talents that can help others.
What does the Bible say about generosity?
The Bible has a lot to say about generosity – why it matters to God, and why we should strive for it in all areas of life.
God is generous beyond measure
The Bible tells us again and again how generous, merciful, and kind God is. In fact, there really isn’t any match to our God’s generosity. He gave the ultimate gift to anyone who accepts it: the life of his one and only son so that we could have eternal life (John 3:16).
God gave life to his creation (Genesis 1:1-31). God provided his Word to teach and guide us (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God gave followers of Jesus the Holy Spirit to advocate for them and guide them (John 14:16). He also gave us everything we have, material and non-material. It was in his hands first.
The obvious response to a God who is so incredibly generous is to be generous ourselves because we are created in his image. As image-bearers, we are called to be like him in our actions. So where do we learn how to be more like God? By reading the Bible, which shows us over and over how important generosity is to God and how we can best point others to him through our own willingness to give.
Everything belongs to God
The Bible tells us of God’s desire for us to share the resources he generously provides us in order to help and serve others. The resources we have to share aren’t ours anyway – they belong to God. We’re just tasked with managing them well.
Dr. Tony Evans, in explaining his idea of kingdom stewardship says:
“Stewardship is protecting and expanding the assets of another. You protect it and you expand it. God has created a kingdom, and his management team have misunderstood their role 'cause they think they own what he's only given for us to manage.”
In other words, we are the management team, entrusted to take care of what God has given us. Jesus illustrates this idea well in Matthew 25:14-30. He gives an example through the parable of the three servants who were entrusted to manage their master’s money.
Each servant was given bags of silver based on their abilities. Two of the servants doubled the money through investing and hard work. The last, the one entrusted with the least, just hid the money in the ground and did nothing else with it.
The two who earned more for their master were praised and given more responsibility. The one who only hid the money without increasing it was scolded, and his bag of silver was taken away and given to the servant who made the most with what he had been given.
God wants us to make the most of what he’s given us, expanding our resources for the benefit of others, and when we do, he will reward us.
Share your resources
2 Corinthians 9:8 reads, “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19 echoes this, advising, “Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.”
Sharing with those in need is emphasized not just in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, but in the Old Testament as well. God was always instructing his people to care for others.
In Leviticus 19:9-10, God instructed his people to leave the edges of their fields unharvested and not to go over their vineyard a second time so as to leave the fallen fruit for the poor. In Deuteronomy 15:10, Moses tells the Israelites “Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.”
Give as one Church
In the New Testament, the church often displayed generosity as one, using their own resources to help fellow Christians and those in need. Acts 4:32 says, “All the believers were united in heart and mind. They felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.”
How much could we accomplish in sharing and helping others with what God has given us? By God’s design, he wants us to live open-handedly instead of storing and keeping it all for ourselves. Acts 4:34 says that “there were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.” How incredible is that visual?
Accumulate heavenly blessings
Being generous to help others is like storing up blessings rather than accumulating material possessions, which can be taken away so easily. As it says in Matthew 6:19-20, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”
God wants us to love him, not our money. Jesus continues in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
In being generous, in giving away our resources to help others, God reminds us that we, in turn, will be blessed. The book of Proverbs says that those who “refresh others will also be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).
It’s like a continuous circle of giving. God provides everything we need to live a life that honors him here on earth. He asks us to be generous with our resources, loving and caring for one another. And he blesses us in return for sharing what he has provided, allowing us to continue being his hands and feet here, generously sharing, loving and pointing others to him.
“For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. ...I tell you the truth, when you did it for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me!” Matthew 25:35-36, 40
How do you find ways to increase your generosity?
Generosity is a matter of the heart. God doesn’t want us to just do generous things - he wants us to be generous people. Looking back at the verse we just read from Matthew 25, there are many ways to demonstrate a heart of generosity:
- Donate food to your local food bank. Make a meal for an elderly or sick neighbor. Drop off surplus vegetables from your summer garden to a shelter or retirement community. (Who doesn’t grow a few too many zucchini or tomatoes?)
- Practice hospitality. Invite a widowed neighbor who might be lonely to your home for coffee or tea, lunch or dinner. Better yet, invite them to church with you!
- Clean out your closet (like you’ve probably been meaning to!) and donate spare clothes to a local shelter or organization that donates clothes to the needy.
- Stop by your local hospital and see if you can volunteer your time to help those who are sick and stuck in the hospital for a long time. Just a visit from a cheerful person can make someone feel better.
- Do something helpful for someone you know, like offering to pick up prescriptions or groceries, or giving childcare to a tired mom or dad who might just need a break.
- Live open-handedly with the money and possessions God has entrusted to you, so others will thank God through your generosity.
As God’s children - his “management team” - we can live generously with all he has entrusted to us. With God as our provider, we have all we need to live as generous people, sharing with others for their good and His glory!
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It's hard to live generously when your finances are stretched thin. Here's some advice on creating more margin in your budget so you have more flexibility to give and bless others!
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