Living generously

What if I told you there was one habit you could build into your life that would have a cascading impact both on you and those around you. A habit essential but not exclusive to the Christian faith. A habit that can lower your blood pressure, reduce stress, help you live longer, and lift your mood. (Rachel Swalin, "4 Benefits of Being Generous," Health, Dec. 2, 2014, health.com/condition/stress/giving-tuesday-health-benefits-of-generosity.) A habit that anyone, regardless of income, education or social class, can practice.

This life-giving habit is practicing regular acts of generosity. Giving your time, resource, and abilities to others can change you as much as others. There are at least three considerations to building a habit of generosity.

There are two types of giving. The first flows from feelings of guilt and compulsion. Think of the commercial that parades a desperate person or situation before your screen while you drink your morning coffee. Their motive is to compel you with desperate images.

The second way to give is an outpouring from your heart. Heartful generosity responds to a cause you believe in, an injustice that must be corrected, and a desire to live beyond yourself. Giving money alleviates guilt. Generous living that changes the world flows from the heart.

Secondly, consider many do not practice the habit of generosity simply because they believe their gift insignificant. They say, "How can my small gift, my meager ability, make any difference at all?" So, they do not give.

We need to retrain our thinking away from equating gift size to gift impact. Possessing a generous heart does not depend on the possessions you have. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the widow who gave sacrificially with two small coins is more impressive and makes a more significant impact than those who give from their abundance (Luke 21:1-2.) The issue is not how much an impact you can make. The issue is making an impact with what you have.

Lastly, there is a simple solution for those who do not have a generous heart but would like to. Give. Practicing the habit of giving will produce a heart of generosity. Attitude always follows actions.

Living generously is living beyond yourself. Winston Churchill is credited with saying, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Generosity can change the world, beginning with you.