It’s no cliché to say that John 3:16 (NIV) – “for God so loved the world that he gave” – is a verse that should greatly inform our lives as Christians today. As followers of Christ, we are to mirror him, and thus we can, and we ought to be, radically generous to those around us.
Many people think about being generous through giving tithes and offerings at church or to organizations that have impacted us or those in which we’ve been invited to participate. But our generosity should be more than giving 10 percent of our income.
We believe that we are to be faithful stewards of our L.I.F.E. We ought to be generous with our labor, influence, finances, and expertise. As Christians, we are called to live in such a way that it demands an explanation. This means our investment strategies should look different than the world’s. Our giving should look different than the world’s. Let us be inexplicably generous in the way we spend our money and order the influence and expertise God gives us.
Giving cash is often the simplest way to be generous. Giving of our influence and expertise is often much harder, but when we desire to go beyond the easy, we lean into the true life Paul outlines in 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV):
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (my emphasis).
If we want to obey the words of this verse, what can we do to be generous beyond giving cash? There are various non-cash giving opportunities that can fuel even greater generosity for you and your family as you seek to steward your finances in a way that impacts organizations you know and love, like Denver Institute, in an extraordinary way.
This post explored the biblical basis for generosity. For part 2, check out this National Christian Foundation (NCF) article, “5 things you can give (instead of cash),” on NCF’s website: https://www.ncfgiving.com/stories/5-things-you-can-give-instead-of-cash/. We hope it encourages you and sparks creativity in your generosity journey!
Eric Most is the President of the National Christian Foundation – Rocky Mountains Region, based in Denver Colorado. It’s Eric’s extreme joy to work with givers, business owners, leaders, and their families to encourage and facilitate God’s calling to be good stewards of all He has entrusted to them and help them live out their giving strategies. Eric is a past owner of Most Insurance, a premier property and casualty insurance agency headquartered in Tampa, FL. He also ran a successful real estate company within Keller Williams. Eric’s greatest longing is to do all to the glory of God, and he is genuinely passionate about mobilizing resources by inspiring biblical generosity.
