Let me give an example. Some years back, we had a garage sale. We did a good business, but there were a few things left over, so she took it all to the local charity resale shop. While there, she ran into a woman who's house had just burned. Moved by her story, my wife gave her all the money in her pocket — which was all the money from the garage sale, a few hundred dollars.
School kids selling stuff door to door? They'll get whatever cash is close at hand. The waitress at Christmas? Yep. Kids selling lemonade? She must stop; she must tip big. Teenagers with bald tires? Not anymore.
I've told our kids, we just have to accept that Mama's a little crazy, but it's a good kind of crazy. Paul boasted about such people:
And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. (2Cor 8:1-3)
Impulsive generosity is a good thing. But another thing I've learned in these 26 years is that's not the only kind of generosity.
When my wife is out, she's talking to people, hearing sob stories, and responding as best she can. You lost me at talking to people. My wife cannot go to the grocery store without making a new friend; if I see someone I know at the grocery store, I avoid them.
I'm pretty introverted, so I'm probably never going to even hear someone's tale of woe. Yet in our family, it's my role to take care of the planned giving. And somehow I keep collecting good causes. Why do I keep running across stories of missionaries?
I'm not handing out cash to people I meet. I write checks. (Well, thankfully a lot of that is EFT now.) My approach to generosity is more along the lines of
Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. (1Cor 16:1-2)
Cash or check. Impulsive generosity versus planned, thoughtful generosity. Two different personalities, two different approaches to the same command to "excel in this grace of giving" (2Cor 8:7).
And there are other kinds of generosity still.
Some people don't have money to spare, but they're generous with their time. Like Barnabas with Paul (Acts 11:25-26), they give the gift of themselves. Someone who can barely afford to buy their own gas, much less someone else's, may still show up for every friend who's moving. The people who lend their backs to mow the widow's lawn or fix her roof are sharing something just as important as money and showing the kind of love Christ called us to.
Then there are those who wade into other people's lives. They rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep (Rom 12:15). They comfort those in any trouble with the comfort they've received from God (2Cor 1:4). Bearing other people's pain, and bearing them up through their pain, is a gift to them. And I believe the ability to do that is a gift from God.
In reality, we will probably all be called to give in all these ways at different times, but it's likely you tend to one of these more than the others. That's OK. Lean into how you've been wired and the gifts you have to give. The important thing is to keep giving. Whether it's cash or checks, time or tears, take every opportunity to show the love of Christ to the people around you.
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