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Why It’s Genius to Be Generous
Do you consider generosity something reserved for people who are either very rich or very holy?
Being generous—sharing, kindness, and being fair—has much more to do with being smart, shrewd, wise, and deliriously happy. Generosity is genius!
John Saville and the Secret Pact
The book’s subtitle is “Lessons from a secret pact between two friends.” John Saville made a “Secret Pact” with Chip Ingram based on these three things:
- I have a desire to help poor and hurting people.
- You are in contact with poor and hurting people daily.
- I want you to be my eyes and ears and help them as God leads you.
Ingram notes that three things happened in his life as a result of this deal:
- Whenever I encountered someone in need, I had to try to see through John’s eyes. “What would John do in this situation? How would he spend his money here?”
- I quickly learned how to balance a checkbook.
- John and I became great friends. Why? Because we got together to celebrate—just as God enjoys celebrating with us over the fruit He bears through us when we partner with Him to love those in need.
Ingram explains, “That’s God’s design for the way we give and express His generosity. Giving is meant to be joyful and fulfilling. It isn’t rooted in guilt, self-righteousness, or a martyr complex. It’s rooted in joy. And, in fact, it’s genius. It’s the smartest way to live.”
Generosity Works
The “Genius of Generosity” emphasizes that generosity—a life overflowing with care and concern for others—is a brilliant way to live.
Here are four reasons why generosity works:
- Generosity is genius because it changes our lives. As the above Proverb notes, if we want the quality of life that will be fulfilling to us and pleasing to God, we will be generous. There’s a reason so many lottery winners talk about how their winning ticket ruined their life; it changed their perspective and their relationships.
- Generosity connects us with others. When people are generous and gracious, the exude love and happiness.
- Generosity helps us invest in what matters. Spiritually, generosity protects us from short-sighted, bad investments of our time, our talent, and our treasure and creates long-term wealth. You are always pouring your time, talent, and treasure into something. You can do that intentionally, or you can do it randomly. How do we store up treasure in heaven?
- Giving to the work of the Gospel.
- Jesus promised that every act of kindness, even as small as giving someone a cup of cold water in His name, would receive a reward in heaven.
- When we give to the poor, we are literally lending to the Lord. He will repay us not only now but in eternity.
- Generosity frees our hearts. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If you want an accurate measure of your relationship with God, take a look at your checkbook and your credit card statements. There are two kinds of treasures in life: those that are temporal and those that last forever. And we have to decide which kind we are going to live for.
Jesus said no one could worship God and money. What Mammon promises—security, significance, purpose, and happiness—only God can provide.
Generosity is a gateway to intimacy with God.
The Principle with Secret Power
True generosity flows out of an understanding that God owns everything. In His economy, good stewardship is by nature generous and joyful; it directs His resources extravagantly toward His purposes and for His people to deeply enjoy.
We need to see stewardship less as a reluctant obligation and more as a thrilling opportunity. All that we are and all that we have belongs to God, and He has temporarily entrusted it to us to oversee according to His wishes. We are managers over God’s household business.
God has entrusted to us everything we have for a reason—so we can partner with Him to accomplish His purposes, and so we can demonstrate where our true priorities lie.
The way we handle money is one of the most accurate reflections of our relationship with Him—and specifically our trustworthiness as His stewards. We can all use these two basic financial practices to show that God is our priority:
- We’re told in Proverbs 3:9 to honor the Lord with our wealth, the first of all our “crops.” Our offerings to the Lord come first, right off the top of our income.
- Give regularly and systematically. In 1 Corinthians 16:2, Paul knows that generosity is more than an occasional attitude or a feel-good response to a pressing need. It’s a regular practice, and it’s a spiritual habit we form that directs and protects our hearts.
Smart stewards ask these three questions:
- Am I using the money entrusted to me in accordance with the owner’s wishes? If we put our money into acts of compassion and justice for those who have deep physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, our giving is aligned with His purposes.
- Am I carefully keeping an account of where the owner’s funds are going?
- Am I becoming best friends with the Owner by managing His resources? Generous giving and faithful stewardship create an opportunity for us to enjoy God’s blessing and delight.
Wake up every day asking, “Lord, what do you want me to do with this time, talent, and treasure You’ve given to me?” Enjoy God’s generosity to you…then share it with others.
Why God Prospers Generous People
The average Christian only gives about 2.5% of his or her income to the work of God’s kingdom, probably because giving feels risky. Generous people, on the other hand, give proportionally to the way God has blessed them. Faith increases giving, and giving increases faith.
Ingram urges us to think differently when he talks about giving proportionally—by percentage rather than amount. He says, “Try not to think in terms of the traditional 10% tithe. That’s a proportional gift, but it’s not always the best reflection of our ability to give or our desire to do so. Ask God to lead you to the proportion that best reflects your heart and your income.”
The tithe was instituted before the law of Moses. The Israelites actually paid multiple tithes a year under their theocracy—their giving amounted to about 23% of their total income.
God blesses generous people. The greatest blessings are to live under His authority, experience His power and peace, develop deep relationships with Him and others, know His purposes, and watch Him begin to use our lives and change the lives of others. The material blessing is pretty far down on the list of what we receive from God when we’re generous.
God always blesses those who are generous, but it isn’t always a material blessing. His gifts are often much more profound than that. Randy Alcorn puts it this way in his book The Treasure Principle: “God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving.”
God wants to bless our lives spiritually, relationally, and materially—or, as Paul says, “in every way.” Why? So we can be generous “on every occasion” (2 Corinthians 9:9-11). Those blessed by God become blessers for God.
There’s a major competitor to a joyful life: greed. There are two ways to prevent it:
First, refuse to chase the wind. As Solomon put it in Ecclesiastes 2:11, “When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” Wealthy people agree. Andrew Carnegie said, “Millionaires rarely smile.”
Second, refuse to view generosity as depriving yourself of something good.
How God Measures Generosity
God measures generosity not by the size of the gift but by the size of the sacrifice. When we give generously, it eventually needs to cost us something. But sacrifice shouldn’t arise solely from a knee-jerk reaction to a big need or a response to pressure. On the contrary, it’s a lifestyle. It flows out of a heart of worship.
Generosity isn’t an act. It’s a way of life. Real generosity is voluntary and joyful.
Three truths will help us become the kind of generous people we want to be:
- Generosity always begins with God.
- Our generosity is the visible expression of our love for God.
- Generous living begins with money and possessions, but it applies to every area of our lives. True generosity doesn’t stop with possessions. It starts with them.
The world operates on principles of getting and keeping and controlling, with everyone competing against each other for pieces of the pie. But the kingdom of God operates on different principles than the world does.
When reflecting on Luke 6:38, Chip Ingram says, “That’s pure genius.”