In 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 the apostle Paul describes the Macedonians as having the gift of generosity. It seems as if more often than not we wish to be the beneficiary instead of the deliverer of generosity. I don't think I have ever heard someone open a prayer by saying, "God, make me more generous" We can blame society as the reason for our selfish nature, but the reality is that it is we are born with it. We can see this lack of generosity or selfish behavior early on in children in the playground with their refusal to share their toys.
The Macedonians were commended by Paul because of their generosity. In fact he called it a gift, one that others need to follow their example. What I find even more compelling is that the Macedonians we generous despite their poverty. It is easy to be generous when you are Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, but God expects us to be generous when we have nothing. We find an example of in the Old Testament when the prophet asks the widow woman to use he last bit of flour and oil to make him something to eat. This was all she had, she tells the prophet that she was going to use it to prepare a last meal and die. Her ability to muster up generosity in a time of famine was what later on gave her access to the miracle healing of her son.
In these difficult times there is nothing more powerful that we can do to during difficult times that giving. This past weekend I saw an incredible amount of giving at the Here's Life Inner City "Boxes of Love" packing party. It is an annual event where hundreds of people from all over NYC line up in the cold just for the opportunity to come together to pack Thanksgiving dinners to 4000 of NYC most neediest families.
Give to our church, give to our community and those in need. If you are looking for places other than just the church to give to here is a list of my three favorite non profits in alphabetical order:
www.betel.org/us
www.charityis.org
www.hlic.org
The Macedonians were commended by Paul because of their generosity. In fact he called it a gift, one that others need to follow their example. What I find even more compelling is that the Macedonians we generous despite their poverty. It is easy to be generous when you are Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, but God expects us to be generous when we have nothing. We find an example of in the Old Testament when the prophet asks the widow woman to use he last bit of flour and oil to make him something to eat. This was all she had, she tells the prophet that she was going to use it to prepare a last meal and die. Her ability to muster up generosity in a time of famine was what later on gave her access to the miracle healing of her son.
In these difficult times there is nothing more powerful that we can do to during difficult times that giving. This past weekend I saw an incredible amount of giving at the Here's Life Inner City "Boxes of Love" packing party. It is an annual event where hundreds of people from all over NYC line up in the cold just for the opportunity to come together to pack Thanksgiving dinners to 4000 of NYC most neediest families.
Give to our church, give to our community and those in need. If you are looking for places other than just the church to give to here is a list of my three favorite non profits in alphabetical order:
www.betel.org/us
www.charityis.org
www.hlic.org
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