Be Generous

“All my experience in the world teaches me that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the safe and just side of a question is the generous and merciful side.”

—ANNA JAMESON

There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting or what is justly due, but it results only in want. The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered.

—Proverbs 11:24–25

One of the wisest things anyone can do is be generous. When we help other people, we really help ourselves even more. To experience the joy of giving is what I call real living. Greed steals life, but generosity releases it along with amazing joy. I spent many unhappy years being selfish and concerned about what I could get out of life. As I cried out to God, asking Him to show me what was wrong in my life, one of the things He taught me was how I needed to be more generous instead of stingy.

I encourage you to look for opportunities to be a blessing to others. Be aggressively generous! Don’t just give when you feel you have to, but always do more than required. Go the extra mile as the Bible teaches.

I heard the story of a woman who was terribly depressed. She went to her pastor for counseling and he told her to go home and bake three batches of cookies and give them away that week and come back the following week for another appointment. The woman never returned, but one Sunday after church the pastor saw her and asked why she did not return for her appointment. She told him she got so happy when she started baking cookies and giving them away she got over her depression.

Depression can be caused by a number of things, but I believe one of them is being self-centered and stingy. Do all you can, as often as you can, for as many people as you can, and you will be much happier. Believe it or not, being generous is much simpler than being selfish.