Generosity as a Lifestyle

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 ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Luke 10:33-35 (ESV) 

You might recognize the verses above as part of the parable of the Good Samaritan as told by Jesus in Luke 10:30-37. Jesus told this story in response to the question “and who is my neighbor?” He used this story to illustrate the principle of love for one another.

As I write, teach, or coach on winning with your money, I want to emphasize that generosity does not have to be limited by the size of our bank accounts. Each day, we can cultivate and develop a heart that is generous to others around us.

I would like to unpack these verses to show you how we can be generous regardless of how much money we have. Generosity is a distinguishing trademark of people who prosper with money.

Let’s see how the Good Samaritan showed he had generosity as a lifestyle:

Time

You will notice that first of all, the Samaritan saw the need, felt compassion, and stopped on his tracks. Two previous travelers saw the same problem and ignored it and moved on with their lives.

You can choose to be generous with your time. Yes, we all have responsibilities to family and work. But if we were to be honest, it is quite possible that we waste a lot of time that could be used to help others.

Look around you and you will find that there is a need you can fill. Choose to give some of your time to help someone else.

Talent

The Good Samaritan applied some skill, some talent to the situation. He bound up the man’s woods and he took care of him in the inn.

We all have the ability to do something and someone out there needs you to come in and share what you can do. What skills do you possess?

Could you cook or bake and deliver a meal to someone? Can you sing or play an instrument and bring joy to an orphanage or an assisted living facility? Can you coach sports and help kids?

Do you know how to sew? What about using your organizational and administrative skills to help a non-profit organization with event planning? How can you invest yourself in others?

As you find the time to help others, make wise use of your time by doing something you can do.

Treasure

Yes, the Good Samaritan had wealth. He owned an animal he could put to use to carry the wounded man. He also had money to cover his costs at the inn.

So yes, we can put our money to good use by helping others. The main motivation for achieving control of our money and building wealth is so that we can help others.

But don’t wait until you have all of your money problems solved before you decide to help someone. You can be generous today and you can be more generous tomorrow!

“Be generous with all your possessions, and passionate about justice.
Share your time, talent, and treasure with those who have less.”
Tim Keller

 Take the challenge this weekend and see how you can be generous. Let me know how it goes!

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This post is also available in: Spanish