Most of us consider ourselves to be generous people. Yes, there's always a little extra we could give but between our online donations to our Facebook friends' marathon fundraising pages, our enthusiastic purchase of our colleague's homemade baked goods at the work charity bake sale and our weekly contribution to the offering at church each Sunday, we're not doing to badly. Or are we? According to data compiled as a result of the Science of Generosity survey, 45 per cent of Americans gave no money to charity in the past year. Among this 45 per cent are almost 4 in 10 who, in the same survey, said they believed having a generous self identity was important. While the survey doesn't reflect the charitable attitudes of Americans as a whole, what it does highlight is that we can fundamentally believe in the virtue of giving but it's something that can take a backseat in our day-to-day lives. Can you remember the last time you gave spontaneously? How about the last time you increased your giving? These Bible verses will help remind us why we need to make being charitable a priority.
Psalm 41:1 - Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
Proverbs 19:17 - Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Isaiah 58:7 - Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Isaiah 58:10 - And if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday.
Matthew 5:42 - Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Luke 14:13-14 - But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Luke 21:3-4 - 'Truly I tell you, he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'
Hebrews 13:16 - And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
