Becoming a Financial Steward 8: Meeting Someone New, Part 1

Welcome back!

Hopefully, you found last week's post on “setting your table” to be encouraging, uncomplicated, and an easy tutorial to explain investing and getting you started.
At the end of that post, we said that we would introduce you to someone new this week…..and I know that you’ve been waiting for it so without further adieu…
Dun da da da!  Meet, Generosity. :)

Wait, you’ve met before? Oh in passing, right.  I totally get it - it takes time to begin a new relationship and energy to cultivate a strong connection.  You need to work to build a relationship with an actual person, and this is also true of generosity.  But, just as the relationships we take time to build give back many gifts, the return on generosity is an unlimited supply of benefits & blessings in unmistakable ways.

“But why?” you ask. “Why is giving of my finances so important?  Shouldn’t I be saving all the money I can in case I need it?  What blessing could I get from giving money away? Isn’t that counter-intuitive? Not to mention, I really don’t think that’s in my budget...I mean have you seen my expenses?”

I will respond by asking some questions in return:

• Is there really something even greater than the American Dream?
• Have you ever seen another human being in need and, deep down, really wanted to help them but had nothing in your wallet?
• Have you ever teared up while watching a commercial for providing life-saving water, food, or special surgeries needed for children in other parts of the world?
• Does your heart break for those same children who are dying of starvation and disease, or are rejected and abandoned because they were born with a cleft palate or other deformity?
• Have you ever wondered why you were born where you were, in this day and time, and given all you have been given?
• Has hoarding or spending all of your money made you a happier and more content person, or instead, has it driven you to want more, more, more, and never feel satisfied?

You see, God wrote so much about money in the Bible because He knows that money competes for a place in our heart that will take the place of Him every time we choose to let it. (Matt 6:24 & 1 Tim 6:10)

But He also provided a great strategy to give us freedom and joy in our finances!  He knows that our purpose can only come from Him & that our identity cannot come from money, for the love of money will make us misers, hoarders, ungrateful, proud, arrogant, never satisfied & driven mad with greed.

Just think about the last time you went to the store and bought something you really wanted.  How long did your satisfaction last after purchasing that item?

I am just like every other person. I struggle with the desire for wanting more and many times have said: “Oh if only we had more money then I would…”

But if I’m honest, I usually hear those words after being with others who have a lot more than I do and comparing myself to them or watching commercials that tell me I deserve to have something they want to sell me. Then I start what I call “the spiral of envy”....where I tell myself I should have picked a different career, I should have made different financial choices, I should be making more money because I deserve it, and the list goes on...I, I, I, me, me, me.  I have forgotten all about the fact that I can’t take a dime with me, that I am RICH compared to the rest of the WORLD, that my desires are leading me down a path that is always “keeping up with the Joneses” and can never be satisfied.  

Be honest, have you ever found yourself thinking and feeling these very same things?
I feel gross when I spiral, I’m unhappy with myself, dissatisfied, angry, insecure, mentally tortured & very annoyed. You can probably relate on every level. This is exactly what happens to us if we take all the good and wise principles that we have learned so far but fail to balance them with generosity.

So what is generosity anyway? Dictionary.com defines generosity as “the spirit and action of freely and frequently giving to others.”

Let’s go back to what we have been learning this whole time - who put us here and gave us all that we have anyway?  Us? Did we breathe the very breath into our own lungs, and can we determine our time here on earth?  No. So it’s not ours anyway, is it?  We are entrusted with everything by God, and He wants the very best for us, meaning, purpose & life to the full (John 10:10).

Is it possible to truly experience meaning, purpose & fulfillment in my daily life just because of the way I handle my money??

The answer is YES!!!!
Generosity is the key to this.

So where do we start on this journey of generosity and how do we begin to apply it to our financial lives and obtain balance? What are the benefits and blessings that follow it? Well, stick around for part 2!  We’ll cover all that next. :)

Would you like to talk with someone who can walk alongside you confidentially with your personal finances?  Please know that there is FREE coaching available for you to take advantage of from our Financial Ministry!  Just email: sarah@readingcitychurch.com, I look forward to hearing from you.

-Sarah Bateman, Director of Community and Finance