Valuing Generosity
Received this from a good friend, and felt it was worth sharing. Tell me what you think of this, and how you think that you, or I could implement this in life.
Vineyard Canada Worship Leaders' Value Of The Month (January)
Live Generously
From Matthew 5:40-42 in The Message.
“If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.”
Living generously is a costly enterprise. We are not always lauded or honored for the gifts that we give. Yet, we were optimally designed to be generous with our words, our gifts and that which we are stewards of in material goods. Generosity sets the human spirit free; both the spirit of the giver and the spirit of the recipient. When you are given to, give. When you are taken from, give. When you are with a stranger, give. When you are with your God, give.
A Prayer: Lord, teach me to give the precious gifts in worship, and to lead others to give the same.
posted by Jake-M @ 11:10 a.m.
13 Comments:
Awesome. God has really been teaching me how to give all of myself, and showing me how to go about it. Faith is a big one in this. I don't think i could do it without faith. Having a good attitude is a must.
AHHHHH! I picture of 'The Giving Tree'! Great book. LOVE that book.
Great post as well.
However, is there a point at which you draw a line? - or am I being a heretic??? - sounds like a potential recipe for burnout... or perhaps I could put it another way; when does a servant become a slave? - or are they the same thing???
This touches something I am currently wrestling with!
(I guess this means you have your laptop back!?)
ok-this is what I've learned in the past 8 and a half months, and it was a serious turnaround from what I really thought before (although I'd never admit it to myself):
yes, Michael, giving can be a recipe for burnout, but only if what your giving is a limited resource. That limited resource, which is typically (at least for me anyways) this concocted idea that I'm supposed to give and give and give and never ever take-that people and life and ministry and everything should just walk all over me and my desires and dreams and what I want and to care at all about what I want is to be a selfish emotion-thriving prick, is going to crash and burn like the flaming ball of crap that it is. It is very, very shakeable, and in the Kingdom of God that doesn't just mean that it can be shaken, but that it will be shaken.
And this shaking, if my 2005 is to be looked on as a landmark year in my life, is a very, very, very good thing. Because it then forces us to turn to a different source. Because if you're source is unlimited, all-loving, and completely unshakeable, that being the unconditional, irrevocable love of God, then not only will you be so generously giving of yourself, but you will also gain the true clarity to see that those dreams and desires were, you being made in the image of God, to be giving of yourself in the first place.
So yes, giving out of flesh=burnout, but giving out spirit=abundant life.
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I think if we are continually looking to God and asking for His Holy Spirit to fill us then we give out of that overflow. I think gifts and gift givers can be misjudged, and so it's often advisable to give anonymously.. but i think in a world which is take take take, the church should be the example of giving....without sounding too spiritual, Jesus gave us the ultimate gift, His Life, how can any of our gifts compare, really, yet God gives us that oppotunity to give with all our hearts. Blessings as you often give people thoughts to think upon, and that is a good gift which you graciously share.
Hey Michael, I get my comments e-mailed to me, so I read the one that you deleted. Probably a good idea, considering what we talked about with your job.
Leaders who ask too much...Saul was known to throw spears at David, and try to kill him. While David was under Saul, he spent all of his time in Saul's presence, doing all he asked, despite the fact that sometimes his only reward was to learn how to dodge.
What is your leader asking of you, and what is the potential reward?
I suspect that your situation is much brighter. But as Matt said, you have to be at peace with what you are being asked for, or else you will not be able to go on for very long.
And even then, you can overcome burnout with a trip to see your friend in the City!!!
Yeah - attack of the conscience... I'm just very tired.
I'll make that trip all the same.
So, Jacob, is it true what they say about you third nipple?
Handel... sounds like a brilliant year!
While I try to give, I know I haven't got a clue. Still giving out of my resources, and not His. Still convinced that we could wipe out global poverty if we wanted to... but we don't want to.
So, what is the deal about a third nipple?
um...about that third nipple thing...I think that what Brendan is trying to say is that I am so giving that it is LIKE I have a third nipple.
(dude, shut up man! You promised not to tell!)
i like giving. sometimes i want to give what i don't have. unfortunatly there is also "take" in this world, and it gets used far more often then "give". i'd like to see more "give" in my life time.
Live generously.
How easy is that!!???!
i absolutely love The Message
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