Because we think of generosity, we we usually think about our money, which confession, and hopefully we get into this later, we are generally not as generous as we like to think ourselves to be, even with that.

But to your point, to make a broadened state here, which is we can be generous in all things.

And I would summarize it by three things our time, our talent, and our treasure.

How do you run your money?

No, we're always finishing each other's sardines.

How we spend our time?

You know, do we spend our time more in community rather than in consumption?

Do I spend more time scrolling YouTube, watching YouTube, scrolling, you know, social media, et cetera, et cetera?

Or do I spend time in community at my church in fellowship with friends?

So our time and our talent and our treasure, these are ways in which the Lord calls us to be generous.

I would just add one other thing, which is be generous with grace.

To be generous with grace.

Someone wrongs you, think graciously upon them.

Somebody sends you an email or says something to you that comes off as rude, think graciously before responding quickly.

Um, to be gracious to others is to treat them the way you hope and desire and have in the Lord.

Yeah.

A mistake we make as believers is we don't often trace virtues back to the character of God.

Right.

You know, one of the things that that we'll often do is when we talk about sin and we talk about the commandments, you know, you you shall not commit adultery because God is not unfaithful.

You know, uh, you shall not steal because God is not a thief, right?

And so on and so forth.

But tie generosity in with the nature of God as our foundation for being generous.

That's a great question.

No, great.

Yeah, it's a very good question.

Um, I heard a preacher once say, before you became a Christian, it was you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal.

Then once you become a Christian, uh, the verbiage is the same, but the tone is now different.

You don't have to commit adultery anymore.

Yeah.

You don't have this is the generosity of God.

You don't have to steal anymore.

I shall provide all of your needs according to my riches in Christ Jesus.

You don't have to commit adultery anymore, you don't have to scroll anymore, you don't have to be a slave anymore.

I have set you free.

The generosity of God, right?

He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.

Everything.

If you don't have it, it's because you don't need it.

Yeah.

And you don't want it if God is not going to get it.

And if give it, and if you're going to go some other place to get it, you don't want that.

Right.

So in the presence of the Lord, right, is fullness of joy.

At his right hand are pleasures forevermore.

What we need is who we need, and that is a person in his name is Jesus.

Right.

So the generosity of God, it overflows.

God desires to give good gifts.

The world's giving is different than the Christians' giving.

I was reading a science article today, and it says, if you're kind to other people, it releases endorphins.

Sounds like something out of Snow White.

And anyway, an act of kindness is an act of kindness lights up the brain's reward centers.

But we don't give to get that feeling of being rewarded.

Um it's kind of still rooted in self.

That's the world.

It's just rooted in self.

You give you kind because it makes you feel good.

But I think the greatest act of kindness that any of us as Christians can exhibit is sharing the gospel.

Amen.

Sharing with someone you're heading for hell.

You need to repent and trust in Jesus.

That's not going to get the praise of men.

That's not going to get a reward from the person.

Because if you open a door for some lady, she's going to turn and say, Thank you so much.

You're a real gentleman.

If you get some groceries for someone, they can say, Oh, this you're so kind.

But there's no reward, there's no endorphins other than what comes from God knowing you're pleasing Him.

It is antithetical to how we function by nature.

Right.

Because again, everything revolves around us.

And a lot of it honestly has to do with security.

I think that those that are big givers are those who have big trust in God.

Because ultimately, at the end of the day, there's that understanding of either I'm gonna be without because I'm giving, or I'm gonna be with less because I'm giving, or uh, I'm okay with whatever God decides to do with me because I'm His.

And not just that, this money is His.

And here's here's the danger with generosity.

That's why I said it's important for us to recognize it's not only money.

Because sometimes it's easier to give money than time.

Good point.

It's easier to give money than our attention or our uh talents because we want to, we want to, you know, be more comfortable.

And so we have a lot of money.

Oh, here, here's a hundred bucks.

We just got 10,000 given to us.

Oh, yeah, here's but man, you so wanted to go to this event, but this this brother is hurting and in need, and he needs someone to minister to him.

Uh you know, I'll put it off, I'll put it off.

That's good, I'll do it later.

But that's where generosity finds its its true fulfillment.

It's like, no, I'm gonna give up my comfort, I'm gonna give up my ease because someone needs my time right now, they need my attention.

Ray, how about generosity as it touches on our witness?

How important is that?

Uh incredibly important.

There was a story of a rich man who had a money belt with gold in it, and he fell in the ocean, and he would not take it off.

It took him to his death.

And that's what sin is like.

It's a money belt that we value, but it's going to take us to our death.

So our witness is so important.

I I was looking at Proverbs 31, verse 26.

That's good.

That's incredible.

Yeah.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and her tongue is the law of kindness.

And I've often thought of those words.

Law of kindness.

It's unbending, it's not negotiable.

If you're a Christian, you've got to have kindness.

The way you treat your dog will reveal something about your character.

And if there's not a law of kindness within the heart of someone who professes to have Christ, you've got to doubt their salvation.

Kindness should be the essence of what we are as Christians.

It's the core of Christianity.

I don't think I don't think we realize how much we owe.

We don't.

I don't think we realize really what God did to become a man.

No.

Right?

Generosity is not about giving stuff, it's about giving yourself.

Yeah.

Amen.

And that as you give yourself, what is included in that?

It is included everything, right?

It's money is needed in this moment.

My time, my talent, everything, what is needed?

It's giving yourself, not stuff.

I don't want your stuff.

I want you.

That's what I want.

You know, but having that heart that it's like excited and ready to forgive.

Oscar, what holds us back from living that way?

Is it blindness, hypocrisy, forgetfulness of how much we've been forgiven?

That's part of it.

Yeah, I think there can be so many things, but the the idea of resentment is um such a dangerous thing.

Because to your point, I think what you're alluding to here is like ultimately resentment and the unwillingness to forgive.

What that points to is I a lack of understanding of the gospel.

That's what it points to is a lack of understanding of the gospel.

You have been forgiven of so much.

Forgiveness is forgiveness.

Forgiveness is saying to yourself, you, the person who sinned against me, owe me nothing.

You don't even owe me the recognition that you sinned against me.

And here's what's incredible, here's what's so radical about the Bible is that in God's word, it shows us that forgiveness isn't just saying you owe me nothing.

It's a step further.

It's then saying, You will good in the life of the person who has sinned against you, that you desire that you're they're good, that you would pray for your enemies, that you would will prosperity and goodness to come upon the lives of the people who haven't said I'm sorry.

I think this quote by Luther is a great place to end.

He said, I have tried to keep things in my hands and lost them all, but what I have given into God's hands, I still possess.

So may we do that, friends, with our time, with our resources, with our energy, with all that we have, because God is worthy.

And at the end of the day, worthy is the Lamb to receive the reward of his suffering.

And that is all of us, every part of us completely surrendered to him.

Thank you for tuning in to this week's highlights from the Living Waters podcast.

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