Thursday, December 1, 2016

Where do you fall on the generosity spectrum?

Would you define yourself as generous? How about compassionate? Maybe you haven't thought about it before? ... I'd like to share some statistics from Defying Gravity by Tom Berlin (we just did a sermon series on this) that I found really thought provoking.

In a study done a few years ago (2010), 45% of Americans reported giving $0 of their income to any charitable purpose (this is self reported). Nearly half of us gave away not a single penny to Girl Scouts, school fundraisers, churches, Salvation Army ... anything. Another 41.3% gave less than 2% of their income away, which means the majority of the financial generosity of our nation is provided by only 15% percent of the populationSo ... money's tight. What about time? 

If you're involved in your child's PTO, PTA or sports, etc., you may know how hard it is to find people who are able to help, especially with dual working parents and single parents - we are all busy! Again, in a self reported survey, over 76% of people reported giving NO volunteer hours to any organization. That means 3 out of 4 people help in no volunteer capacity at all. OK ...When we look at generosity, maybe it seems like something that fits more on a 15 year plan - not on our 6 month plan.  

What does every day generosity of spirit look like? It's being patient with a child, helping someone in need, listening to neighbor, extending forgiveness to a family members, texting someone you know who's having a rough day, sending a thank you card. These are all traits of a generous spirit- that cost very little. So I guess we can be hopeful that these are all things our self-reporting friends are doing but don't fall into the categories of the survey?

I'm reminded of the climate on social media in the height of the political season and I'm wondering if we are generous with our praise, generous with compassion and understanding?

Maybe we just don't have time to be generous. Are we so busy we have lost our ability to be generous? Are we experiencing such a scarcity in generosity that we are no longer able to be caring?

I don't think it's true. I think there good people all around us doing good deeds. As the beloved Mr. Rodger's is known for saying "When I as a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"  He continued: “To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/fredrogers737842.html
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/fredrogers737842.html
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world." - See more at: http://www.fredrogers.org/parents/special-challenges/tragic-events.php#sthash.qBbWU9ks.dpuf
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world." - See more at: http://www.fredrogers.org/parents/special-challenges/tragic-events.php#sthash.qBbWU9ks.dpuf

If we challenge ourselves to be generous, we can be the hope for others; we can be generous spirits in a culture of deprivation. If not during the holidays, then when else? I hope to model to my own children the importance of being generous over being productive. I pray we can do this together. Let's work together to be the helpers.

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