Recently I heard this liturgy from a church in New York and I thought it was a beautiful reminder of the generosity that God calls us into.
Holy Father, there is nothing I have that You have not given me. All I have and am belong to You, bought with the blood of Jesus. To spend everything on myself, and to give without sacrifice, is the way of the world that You cannot abide.
But generosity is the way of those who call Christ their Lord; who love Him with free hearts and serve Him with renewed minds. Who withstand the delusion of riches that chokes the word; Whose hearts are in your kingdom and not in the systems of the world.
I am determined to increase in generosity until it can be said that there is no needy person among us. I am determined to be trustworthy with such a little thing as money that You may trust me with true riches.
Above all, I am determined to be generous because You, Father, are generous. It is the delight of Your daughters and sons to share Your traits, and to show what You are like to all the world.
As I think about how to raise my children in this stuff-focused world, there are three things I focus on to help.
This post is sponsored by Abraham’s House Charity.
Gratitude.
Being grateful is the absolute key to discontent. It is so very easy to find yourself in the trap of wanting more all the time. I try to talk to my kids all the time about how much we’ve been given.
Stuff Is Just Stuff
Yes, we need things to live, but we have so much more than we require. I remind my kids that the stuff we have is fun but it isn’t what a life is built on. The stuff we have isn’t our legacy and it isn’t what is most important in this world. How we care for others, how we love one another, how we impact hearts is much more valuable.
Keep Your Eyes Open
Be ready to help! You always have extra lying around. Even if it isn’t monetary, there are a lot of ways you can bless people with things you may not be using in the house. We do this often on the community free group we are part of. Another great thing you can do is great involved as a family with the Festival of Giving through Abraham’s House Charity. Abraham’s House is a 501 c3 non-profit organization that takes in donations of material goods and gives 90% of those items away free of charge to those in need. They are funded by selling antiques and collectibles.
Abraham’s House Charity Festival of Giving at the Tacoma Dome
Giving always produces joy! God loves when we are cheerful giving. Whether it is time, money or resources we all have been given so much and I encourage you today to pray over the ways that God is asking you to be generous. It may look different for each family!
Lord, reveal to us your generous spirit!
