Word Count: 841

Contact Jerry Ousley

Being Generous

by Jerry Ousley  
11/21/2014 / Christian Living

By nature I am not a generous man. I confess that because it is the only way I can gain victory over being selfish. As it is with any sin, the best way to overcome it and to allow the Lord to give us victory over it is to confront it head on. So there, I've made my confession. With that being said, the Lord has moved upon me many times to give. Sometimes I've been obedient and sometimes I haven't. Jesus told us to be generous. In Matthew 5:40-42 in the course of the famous "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus said, "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away." That's a pretty large pill to swallow. He is telling us to be generous.

A part of the ministry of Spirit Bread is helping national pastors of economically stressed nations. We can't help everyone who asks of us. But we try to do what we can. We are very cautious as to whom we send money to and frankly we very seldom do that because there are so many scammers out there who would take advantage of a believer's generosity. There are a few to whom we have definitely felt led to help with money but most we try to help with what they need the money for. This costs more because you have to purchase what they need then pay the enormous postage bill to get it sent overseas. But that's not exactly what Jesus said is it? Didn't He say that whoever asks of us that we are supposed to give it to them? Yes it does, but we must become wise stewards of God's provision. Jesus also told us not to cast our pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). Then we are told in 1 Peter 4:10 to be good stewards of the grace of God. Jesus understood this and to really be a successful giver requires us to be careful and cautious. Otherwise those who are really in need will be cheated by those who just want to take advantage of our Christian generosity.

I was generous just the other day. We had received about eight inches of snow and a young man dutifully showed up asking if he could shovel our driveway. In this day and age it is always good to find young folks who actually want to earn their money. I gave him the job and felt like I paid him generously. He didn't have a snow shovel so I let him use ours and fixed him a cup of hot chocolate before he left (by the way, I would have never thought about doing that but my wife turned me on to the idea). He had a couple more driveways to shovel and asked me if I'd let him borrow our snow shovel. I hesitated (remember, I've confessed that by nature I'm not a generous person), but then thought "Why not; I won't be needing it for a few hours since he's already shoveled the driveway," so I let him borrow it. He promised that he'd bring it back in an hour or so. He didn't. I guess I'm going to have to buy a new one. That was yesterday and so far he hasn't shown up with it yet. I thought I was generous with his pay but I guess he thought differently.

To be successful in our Christian experience requires us to be generous. Just because it may not be a natural thing for us doesn't mean that we are excused. My wife is very generous by nature unlike me. She's put me to shame many times. But it doesn't excuse me from beating down the old man and going against my nature.

As we've said, the world has a different philosophy about success. As believers in Christ Jesus we must seek the Lord's philosophy because in the long run we will be more successful in life if we do. We may not have piles of money hoarded up. We may not have a lot of possessions, fine homes, and expensive automobiles. But we will have something that most with those things don't have: Peace of mind and acceptance by God, not because of our good deeds, but because of our desire to put Him first and be successful in Him.

My grandmother was a lot like my wife. She was extremely generous. When she passed away she had very little for her children to squabble over. But she left behind her a trail that many would have a difficult time following because her trail was marked by helped people; people who loved her. She was successful in the Lord. We can be too. We just have to know how God defines success and then follow His path.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Jerry Ousley

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer