As children of God, people are called on to be generous — not just in terms of money, but also in terms of love, time, patience and understanding.
Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church writes on his devotional that a Christian's generosity is important because it shows to the world what God is truly like. The Bible verse 2 Corinthians 9:13 says: "As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ."
Warren himself is inspired to be generous when he is reminded of God's incredible generosity. "Look at the world we get to live in. Look at the life He gave us. Look at the way he meets our needs. God is the perfect model of generosity. And when we are generous with others because of God's generosity toward us, it points others to God," he says.
Another reason why Christians should be generous is because it will make them happy. The Bible verse Acts 20:35 tells people that "it is more blessed to give than to receive." Warren explains that Jesus never said that it is not a blessed thing to receive, since people naturally feel happy when they receive things.
The world might try to convince people that they will be at their happiest when they receive, but Jesus knows better. "Jesus turned that idea around and said that you will be happier when you give than when you receive," says Warren.
Lastly, Christians being generous just makes sense. Warren says people appreciate generosity, so they expect others to be generous. However, generosity won't start happening unless Christians get the ball rolling.
"Do you think that by sowing miserly selfishness you're going to reap a generosity from God and others? God says that's not the way life works. There is a law of sowing and reaping. So if you want to reap generosity, you have to sow generosity," says Warren.
