Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash

The lights are hung, the trees are decorated, the parties are planned and mostly completed and the last few gifts are being wrapped. This is truly one of the most wonderful times of the year. This season is a special time for all of us for many different reasons, but perhaps one of my favorite reasons is because of people’s generosity. We don’t have to look very far to see generous hearts all around. Turn on the news and see how a “Secret Santa” is paying off thousands of dollars of people’s layaways. Look closely at you and your friend’s behavior. During this holiday season we don’t just give gifts to our family, we give gifts to our friends and even our coworkers. Generosity is all around during Christmas.

However, what about the other eleven months of the year? Are we just as generous in June or July as we are during the month of December? Sadly, I’m afraid we do not live with this same generosity throughout the entire year. Maybe there are many reasons for why this tends to be the case, and perhaps some of these reasons we may even consider to be very good reasons. However, as Christians, we are called to not neglect doing good and sharing what we have (Heb. 13:16).

Paul, speaking to the churches in Galatia, said, “So then, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). Notice the phrase, “As we have the opportunity.” Every day you and I have several opportunities to be generous and bless the lives of other people by doing good. Sometimes those blessings come in the form of something big, while most of the time they come in the form of something on a much smaller scale. Whether big or small though, we must make the most of these opportunities for generosity.

The holiday season will soon be over, but I pray our generosity toward others will not be over. Let’s be as generous in the next few months as we are during the current holiday season. May you and I model generous lives before others so that our heavenly Father receives all the glory and honor (Matt. 5:13-16).

Now that’s Something to Think About!