Generosity as Freedom From Fear
OPENING PRAYER:
Father, let your words from Philippians speak to our hearts, today.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13 NIV
REFLECT:
Even in seasons of plenty, the worries remain. ‘Shouldn’t I focus on saving what I have for the future rather than giving it away now?’ ‘If I make a sacrifice, will I fall behind my peers?’
It all amounts to the same worry that what I have isn’t enough. Even if I don’t know what ‘enough’ means, I still worry I don’t have it.
Money can hold real power over us, and many times has caused me to be blind to what I already have. Generosity reassigns this power back to God, allowing me to see clearly and creatively the gifts God has given me. I can give freely of my time, my skills, my love and my prayers without worrying about whether I will be taken care of. Even in the seasons where cash is tight, the discipline of giving out of my little reminds me that I am not sustained by my own efforts, but by God’s provision in my life.
Fear keeps me focussed inwardly on my own problems. Philippians 4:12–13 reminds me that in being content in God, I am released to hand my fears over to him and instead to look at how I can best serve those around me. This quote from the leadership team of St. Basil’s Church in Devon captures it perfectly: ‘Generosity does for money what Sabbath does for time. The spiritual discipline of giving restricts the destructive power of money and releases its redemptive potential.’
APPLY:
Take a few minutes to ask God to reveal where fear is stifling your opportunities to be generous?
CLOSING PRAYER:
Father we give thanks for those times when we experienced Your generosity and we lay down our anxieties at the foot of the cross.
WORSHIP: