In the age of the internet, it’s easy to feel like we’ve never had more opportunities to be generous.
Our newsfeeds are constantly updated with the latest crises around the world. With one Google search, we can find information about hundreds of thousands of charities. We receive messages about fundraisers for people in our own communities and crowdfunding campaigns for people we knew years ago. Even our online shopping can generate donations for our favorite nonprofits. We’ve never had so many options for generosity—but is generosity only giving our money, or does God’s Word give a broader definition?
In his Word, God reveals his generous heart. He created a vibrant world and filled it with a stunning array of natural wonders and fascinating animals. Then he created human beings in his holy image and tasked them with caring for this amazing gift (Genesis 1:28). When Adam and Eve sinned against God, he showed mercy and promised redemption and triumph over evil (Genesis 3:14-15). Throughout the Bible, we see stories of God’s grace that led to his greatest gift of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Now, God promises to continue generously providing everything we need: “And with all his abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19 GNT).
God’s vision is for us to be generous, too—not begrudgingly, but because we have experienced his amazing generosity: “You should each give, then, as you have decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly” (2 Corinthians 9:7 GNT).
This spirit of generosity extends beyond just our finances. Here are seven verses to guide you in living out your calling of generosity in your everyday life.
7 WAYS TO SHOW BIBLICAL GENEROSITY
Give your money—God honors any amount you give.
Jesus looked around and saw rich people dropping their gifts in the Temple treasury, and he also saw a very poor widow dropping in two little copper coins. He said, “I tell you that this poor widow put in more than all the others. For the others offered their gifts from what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, gave all she had to live on.”
Luke 21:1-4 GNT
Give your home and hospitality.
Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2 GNT
Give your possessions and other material blessings.
He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it.”
Luke 3:11 GNT
Give your care for other people.
What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.
James 1:27 GNT
Give your time and energy by helping others.
Do not forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God.
Hebrews 13:16 GNT
Give your spiritual gifts.
Each one, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God.
1 Peter 4:10 GNT
Give your prayer.
So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.
James 5:16 GNT