Generosity: The New Lifestyle

As a twelve-year-old boy, I was alone in my thoughts one afternoon, dreaming about all the things I could buy with one million dollars. The previous day I had been asked what I would do if I were given one million dollars. How would I choose to spend the money? I thought of many different fun things to buy. I thought about how much chocolate I could buy. I wondered how far I could make it stretch if I went on holidays for the rest of my life. To me, a sum of money that large could last forever!

That question showed what was really in my heart. What would I do if there were no limits? If I could say yes to anything, how would I spend my time? I dreamt of indulging in pleasures. I thought I would be happy if only I had cool stuff. Now I realise the thing stopping me from being happy was not my lack of things and grand holidays, but instead a desire to live a life of generosity.


These verses can be used to make many different points, but I want to highlight the use of sowing and reaping as an example of generosity. A farmer sows for a season, and during that season does not plant a single seed. Instead, he plants thousands of seeds for days on end! He will not stop until the field is covered. In the same way, giving should not be seen as single, one-time events, but instead as seasons of giving over and over. I am not talking about giving time, energy, or other resources. I am specifically talking about money. There may be times when it is financially impossible to invest and give thousands of times per year, but when that season comes, it is up to you to take advantage of it.

If only I understood the importance of a generous heart when I was younger, I would have started to see my life take a different direction earlier. However, I did begin to see that each coffee I bought someone, each $10 for a brother, or even each McDonald’s $1 frozen drink for a friend made a difference and started to open my world…

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