When these moments occur , we must recognize that generosity can be messy .
Generosity means helping people who hurt you
Jared ’ s neighbor regularly had harsh words for him . He was always complaining about something . Jared ’ s dogs barked too much . Jared ’ s kids kicked their soccer ball onto his lawn again . Jared ’ s yard needed better maintenance . This neighbor was tough to love , but Jared tried his best to remain calm and patient . fact , we see something diametrically different . The sinner receives grace . The inflicter receives healing . We all have people in our lives who bother us . There are people in our lives who have hurt us or abandoned us . We find it difficult to be around these people , and we can ’ t fathom being generous to them . But Jesus makes the unfathomable a reality .
We are more like Jesus when we give to the undeserving than when we give to those we feel deserve it . In those moments of messy generosity , our hearts reflect the heart of God .
One day , Jared saw his neighbor on crutches , struggling to walk . The neighbor had been in a bad wreck , breaking his left leg and arm . In Jared ’ s heart , he knew exactly what God wanted him to do .
Without being asked , Jared started mowing the neighbor ’ s lawn while his kids pulled weeds from the flower bed .
When the neighbor opened his front door , Jared could tell that he wanted to say something harsh , but he didn ’ t . Instead , he just said , “ Thank you ,” and went back inside .
Those two words were the neighbor ’ s first nonnegative comment to Jared . It was a step .
It ’ s easy to bless and be generous with those who are close to us , those we are fond of , and those who are fond of us . But the generosity we see in Scripture places no such restrictions . In
Generosity looks like involvement
Keith does something incredibly brave each Sunday : He volunteers in the middle school student ministry at our church . I have no clue how he endures , but week after week , he shows up to help middle schoolers learn more about their amazing God .
It is a picture of true courage .
Dana volunteers at an organization in Raleigh that provides gospel- centered social services to homeless , abused , and impoverished highrisk youth , individuals , and families .
I know that Keith and Dana give generously of their finances to their church , but their generosity doesn ’ t stop with the click of a “ Give Now ” button on their computer screens . Their financial giving is not detached from the rest of their lives , because they recognize
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