Generosity

We are doing a four week series at church right now called MORE and the focus of the series is money; more specifically tithing and how gaining control of the financial aspects of your life can set you free in a way(See Matthew 6:24). Although Mike's main focus is on the tithe, his other side kick focus seems to be generosity and for me that hits home more. He asked the question at the beginning of the series, "What comes first, contentment or generosity?" For me my gut reaction was that generosity comes first and that makes me content, but looking back to reassess, that is not always the case. This series has forced me to look long and hard at what we spend money on, what we need, and what we don't have that we want and surely don't actually need. The other thing this series has done for me is to highlight what a generous person my mother is and how indebted I am to her for teaching me to be kind, to give to others, and to be generous with what you have. As most of my close friends know, my Mom raised me as a single mother and has never had a lot of money. As a matter of fact, she has worked three jobs at times to make sure I had a nice Christmas, got the Cheerleading shoes I wanted or had the homecoming dress of my dreams. She always made it work. She never complained and she never once let on to me that she was barely making ends meet. Looking back, however, as an adult I know that she struggled more often than not, however she never ever and still to this day has stopped giving. I wish that I was rich enough to give back to her all the money I made her spend on useless brand name items and things that I didn't really need. Anytime anyone is in need, my mom is there. Anytime someone dies, my Mom will be the first to bring their family a dish of food and send them a card. She would be the first to call and make sure they are doing ok. We never went to a church on a regular basis because we didn't have a way to get there, but when we did go to a church, even if we were just visitors at that church I remember my Mom putting money in the offering plate. Even if it was just one or two dollars, she would still put the something in. Recently, a father of one of her neighbors in the apartment complex she lives in died, although she does not know the family on a "friend" basis, she knows them and knows that they didn't even have enough money to have a funeral for their father. She immediately cooked them an entire italian dinner and took it to them. I'm sure she sacraficed something on her grocery list that she wanted to make this meal, but she did it anyway. She is the reason why I am a nurturer by nature and the reason I enjoy taking care of others and doing for others. Some people say that I often don't take enough time for myself, but taking times for others is all the more rewarding if you ask me. So this leads me back to the tithe. Although I do not feel faithful enough to be able to tithe 10% of our income, that does not mean I should give nothing. As Mike noted on Sunday he does not think God is concerned with the percentage that is coming out of our checks each month, he is more concerned with our intentions and our hearts. I think my heart is in the right place, now it's just time to put some of the money in that same place. Easier said than done, but if the opposite of faith is worry and I have vowed to worried less and have more faith, then I must give! (Matthew 6:25)