Me me me. The root of much of today’s social, economic and political problems is selfishness. To be more exact, putting me first without taking consideration about how my action could put others in a far less favourable condition.
However, I don’t think we should live a life of complete “for-otherness”, for example, shelter, freedom of mind and companionship are basic capacity of a person.
God’s creation order has a relationship logic that spans vertically (e.g. heaven and sea) and horizontally (growth of nature). God’s fundamental basis for human is healthy relationships both to God’s creation order and with others.
I often think of generosity as giving something away without compulsion. And if you are really generous, then you give more, more regularly, or both.
The birth of Jesus is an act of generosity of sacrificial proportion. God gave his son Jesus to the world. Jesus generously obeyed his father’s will, and acted generously to those around him. He also generously fulfilled the requirements of the law. This paved the way for God’s generous “welcome home” call to all of us.
Although we are not in the same place to show generosity as God and Jesus did, we are called to be generous. It is an evidence of growing in Christ according to Galatians 5:22.
The way Jesus taught his disciples to pray recounts generosity: God, please forgive us, and having received the generosity, enable us to do the same generosity to those who have wronged us.
Generosity sounds like something that happens within a purpose. Giving something away without much thought does not sound like being generous, but being wasteful. The widow who gave all away, her two coins, is being generous for God’s purposes. The widow who gave her food away to feed Elijah (1 Kings 17) even though that’s her last meal with her own son is being generous to the end.
Stories are being made today with the church in certain parts of the world, where Christians showed generosity to their own who are under grave persecution. This is not only in material terms such as providing necessities, spiritual support by news and prayer, but also by going through grave personal danger in order that important items are brought to the suffering part of the family. Often a brief meeting is a generous act of insurmountable proportion for both sides, encouraging them in their faith, in the maturing of the fruit of the spirit.
Although generosity in itself probably will not cure the world’s problem overnight, it provides the right framework. A relationship unit (e.g. a family) that shows generosity amongst its members has great capacity to forge trust and support, less of I-me-my, more of we-us. It can then devote its energy to what it should do, rather than on fixing problems caused by the I-me-my relationship.
At a time when people think more about family and loved ones, sharing time with those who need friendship and companionship over the holidays will be a generous act.
It’s traditional that families spend time together over a festive period. Let’s put in more generosity in our acts (e.g. offerings, prayers) and events (meals, choirs). Do them with the eternal purpose of God’s coming to us. Open our church to strangers; open our house to those in need of a warm welcome.
