Reason #739
We've started this new Sunday tradition that I am hoping will stick. For the past two Sundays, we've gone to the grocery store right after church to eat lunch and do our shopping for the week. Grocery shopping is probably one of my least favorite activities to do because I always have to go when everyone else goes. The only time I enjoy it is when the store is empty. That way, you don't have to maneuver around shopping carts and you can take your time to look for what you need. The only way to experience that kind of shopping is to go during the work day. Therefore, the only time I get to do that kind of shopping is on bank holidays, and those are far and few between.
One really nice thing I have discovered about shopping on Sundays is that the food samples are out. Snacking while shopping does make for a more enjoyable experience. And I thought about how fortunate we are to have grocery stores. It's one of those things I take for granted. And, not only do we have a place where we can just go grab food that is good, safe to eat, and convenient, we can go at anytime. Hungry at 2:00AM and nothing sounds good? You can go to the store. Run out of milk at 9:00PM, just run by the store. The only reason we'd ever have to do without is simply because we don't want to make a trip to the store. Aside from that, we've got all the food we could ever need at our fingertips, and even the stuff we don't.
We started a new bible study over generosity this morning. We came to the conclusion that we don't often recognize God's generosity because we have so much. In fact, we have so much that we forget where it came from and we spend our time wanting more. I read a quote from the study that said, "Just because you do not have what your neighbor has, it doesn't mean you're lacking." Isn't that the truth though? Yet we look at what everyone else has and that's all we see. We don't see the home God has blessed us with, we see how big and new their house is. We don't see the provision from the job God has blessed us with, we just see how much money they are making and what all they are buying with it. We see it and we want it. We feel like we've been slighted, like we're receiving less because we are totally and completely blind to the fact that God has been so generous to us.
Comparison is the enemy's best friend. One of the top ways he steals our joy and gratitude. Because when we compare, we are looking through a tainted lens. When we compare, we are taking our fickle feelings and mixing them in with what we perceive are someone else's facts. But did it ever occur to you that God has blessed you with what He wants you to have and He has blessed them with what He wants them to have and both are equally generous. You don't deserve your things, they don't deserve theirs, no, all good things are undeserved blessings from God's hand. Sure, maybe it seems like they were "worked for," but if God didn't give you good health and sound mind, you wouldn't have been able to "work" for those things in the first place. And so really, it all points to God's generosity. Your every breath reveals God's generosity. Each day you live, each day you work and play and enjoy life, it's all because God is generous.
So give back. Be generous because He has been generous to you. Don't take it for granted. Don't expect it. Be grateful for what you do have and don't dwell on what you don't have. You have what you need, and He'll make sure you always do. If He is generous to birds, to lilies, and to all of creation, He most certainly will be the same toward you.
#739 - Because His generosity is not limited.
"Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous." - 2 Corinthians 9:11
One really nice thing I have discovered about shopping on Sundays is that the food samples are out. Snacking while shopping does make for a more enjoyable experience. And I thought about how fortunate we are to have grocery stores. It's one of those things I take for granted. And, not only do we have a place where we can just go grab food that is good, safe to eat, and convenient, we can go at anytime. Hungry at 2:00AM and nothing sounds good? You can go to the store. Run out of milk at 9:00PM, just run by the store. The only reason we'd ever have to do without is simply because we don't want to make a trip to the store. Aside from that, we've got all the food we could ever need at our fingertips, and even the stuff we don't.
We started a new bible study over generosity this morning. We came to the conclusion that we don't often recognize God's generosity because we have so much. In fact, we have so much that we forget where it came from and we spend our time wanting more. I read a quote from the study that said, "Just because you do not have what your neighbor has, it doesn't mean you're lacking." Isn't that the truth though? Yet we look at what everyone else has and that's all we see. We don't see the home God has blessed us with, we see how big and new their house is. We don't see the provision from the job God has blessed us with, we just see how much money they are making and what all they are buying with it. We see it and we want it. We feel like we've been slighted, like we're receiving less because we are totally and completely blind to the fact that God has been so generous to us.
Comparison is the enemy's best friend. One of the top ways he steals our joy and gratitude. Because when we compare, we are looking through a tainted lens. When we compare, we are taking our fickle feelings and mixing them in with what we perceive are someone else's facts. But did it ever occur to you that God has blessed you with what He wants you to have and He has blessed them with what He wants them to have and both are equally generous. You don't deserve your things, they don't deserve theirs, no, all good things are undeserved blessings from God's hand. Sure, maybe it seems like they were "worked for," but if God didn't give you good health and sound mind, you wouldn't have been able to "work" for those things in the first place. And so really, it all points to God's generosity. Your every breath reveals God's generosity. Each day you live, each day you work and play and enjoy life, it's all because God is generous.
So give back. Be generous because He has been generous to you. Don't take it for granted. Don't expect it. Be grateful for what you do have and don't dwell on what you don't have. You have what you need, and He'll make sure you always do. If He is generous to birds, to lilies, and to all of creation, He most certainly will be the same toward you.
#739 - Because His generosity is not limited.
"Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous." - 2 Corinthians 9:11