morning everybody is 1 30 a .m and this is food
for thought thoughts if it were you my name is
neogentrics and we're back with the moral series
yesterday i covered kindness and i'm going to
go ahead and pick up on that moving on to the
next moral i cover generosity by definition that's
the quality of being kind and generous in other
words it's the quality or fact of being plentiful
or large no not large like in your rear that
has nothing to do with it or even large in your
stomach well actually i take that back that's
being a little too generous um but anyway In
other words, we all have people in our lives
that we can identify as generous. And it's not
simply because they give away significant amounts
of money, though they may in some people's case.
But I'm going to use a Bible reference here.
As Mark 12, 41 through 44 shows us, those who
give away numerically little may actually be
those who are the most generous. Okay? In God's
economy, amount sacrifice always supersedes the
amount given okay in other words you can get
five dollars but it doesn't mean that that's
all you actually give just the act of even giving
in the first place is more than the amount of
money that you were going to give in the first
place for the generous person their posture of
generosity affects all areas of their life not
just their bank account though that may be a
factor so What are some ways we can spot such
a person? This is a question a lot of people
should ask. And what are some generous identifiers
we should consider for our own lives? I'm going
to go ahead and give you six of them. We're going
to take a short break. I'm going to pull up this
list that I have written here. And then we're
going to cover that. So the six identifiers.
First one being they're satisfied. Okay? Except
for the amounts that they give away, they always
want to give more. They want to be more generous
with what they have, but they are not driven
by the desire to acquire more possessions. They
may have a nice house, or they may have a nice
car, but those things don't drive them. They
would be just content without them. I'm one of
those people. It was just how I was raised. On
that note... I'm not saying anything about other
people who have these types of things. It just
depends on your environment. With that being
said, the second thing is they say yes more than
they say no. I have to admit, this is a bad habit
of mine. Generous people have the amazing ability
to say yes. They, in a way, sense, do they have
more money than everyone else? No. Do they have
more time than everyone else? No. Do they have
more possessions than anybody else? Most definitely
not. But they may manage money, time, and possessions
in a way that allows them to say yes more often,
and they almost always prioritize people over
each of those areas more so than anything else.
And I can honestly admit to being one of those
people. Just because I offer to buy something
for someone or I offer to help them doesn't mean
that I have the time or the money. It just means
that my handling of those is such that I have
access that I can share with you and I'm doing
it because I want to, not because I have to.
On that note, let's move on to the third one
real quick. They ask, you know, what can I do
for you? And they actually mean it. And you can
usually tell this from the tone in the person's
voice. Generous people do not wait for opportunities
of generosity to come to them. They seek out
ways in which they can bless others. They know
that some of the most needy people will never
approach another individual for assistance voluntarily,
unless they're extremely desperate. Therefore,
the generous person takes the initiative. With
that being said, number four, they don't talk
about their possessions. For one, it does sound
egotistical and a little naive. Because they
do not see themselves as owners of those possessions.
They know that any possessions that they hold
is basically our fathers in heaven. And it is
their challenge to manage it well for God's purpose.
Their possessions are just tools to be used for
generosity's sake. They truly believe that God
didn't design us to be hoarders, but conduits
through which His generosity flows. As I said
before, this is not a Bible station, but it doesn't
mean we won't be covering aspects related to
such. So, with that being said, number five,
there's a sense of levity about them. Their lack
of attachment to possessions develops a lightheartedness
in them. They're not burdened down by the drive
to get and keep more stuff, okay? They're not
connected or even concerned about the keeping
up with the Joneses or the Joneses' lifestyle,
okay? They live life open -handed. They experience
a freedom that most don't even know exists. And
finally, six, they're energetic. Giving energizes
them. How do I phrase this? God gave them their
resources for his purpose, okay? And they are
aligned with it. It is an adventurous place to
be. We were designed for generosity's sake. Okay,
when individuals align themselves with the design,
it becomes oblivious. They... are easily identified,
their generosity has infected their entire being.
Of course, this leaves us with an obvious question.
What identifies us? And this is something I want
y 'all to think about. Well, thus is the whole
point of this station in the first place. It's
food for thought. Okay? Now, I've covered the
six pointers, identifiers of a person who's generous.
In the next piece here, I'm going to take a short
break, we're going to cover the five qualities
of a generous person. And that will conclude
generosity for this podcast. And then we'll be
moving on to the next moral in the series. We're
going to go ahead and cover the five qualities
of a generous person. And we'll finish up this
podcast leading strong. So although there are
many different types of generous people, there
are some common traits that the most generous
people share. Whether they give their time or
their money, these qualities are largely shared
by the individuals most devoted to giving back
to their communities and or families. Although
the Latin root of the word means of noble birth,
by no means is generosity limited to people in
positions of power. While it is typically the
high profile people who are in the news for their
generosity, anyone can become more generous simply
by paying attention to his actions. And according
to Emmanuel Levinas, the French philosopher,
a generous person will display these qualities
even if they know the people or group he is helping
is not going to do the same in return. So even
if you know people are going to automatically
bite you in the ass, it doesn't mean you still
don't help them. The first thing is altruism.
First and foremost, generous people are altruistic.
They give without hopes of receiving compensation
for their good deeds. Personal gain may occur,
but it's not a motivating factor for the most
generous people. Second is optimism. Generous
people are idealists. They have a certain image
of the way the world should be and strive to
achieve that end. Although the world is not a
perfect place, these people do not stop giving
their time, energy, or money. As optimists, They
see the world in a different light than others.
They truly believe that the world, although not
perfect, can be made into such a much better
place. Trust is a major quality amongst the most
generous people. They trust completely that their
cause is a worthy one. They trust that the people
involved with that cause will do their best to
help achieve the goal. Trust that the others
involved with the cause will be using their time
and resources appropriately, or at least so we
hope. Next would be energy. When you think of
a person being generous, energy is one of the
first things that comes to mind. These individuals
devote their energy to the good that they want
to do. They also gain energy from their cause.
figuratively speaking. When the most generous
person spends their time working on a goal, they
are revitalized and energized to do even more.
It's kind of like a monkey see monkey do kind
of mentality, but in a good way. Last but not
least they have the ability to lead this quality
may seem like an odd one at first But the most
generous people are not afraid to stand up and
leave for their cause Although not everyone can
actually lead their group or cause this does
not discount these individuals leadership capabilities
Getting involved is in itself a form of leadership
Okay The most generous people share these qualities
to differing degrees. If you're concerned with
increasing your own level of generosity, these
factors will get you started in the right direction.
And with that, I end my podcast today on generosity.
It's not a very long topic to cover, and most
of it is pretty self -explanatory and understood,
if not mostly common sense. But for those who
have no idea how to get started or are not sure
if they even have it, this is a great way to
get going. This completes generosity for my Food
for Thought podcast, Thoughts If It Were You.
We'll be moving on to the next moral in our next
episode, and it'll be one of the two. I haven't
quite decided yet. It'll either be fairness or
courage. We'll see when the next episode comes.
Thank you for listening. And like I said before,
if you have any ideas, thoughts, or concerns,
feel free to send me a message and we'll take
it from there. Enjoy the rest of your day. God
bless.