Generosity Draws Attention to the Gospel

J.D. Greear:

“Generosity is contagious, and so is stinginess.”

What we mean by this is that generosity breeds more generosity. We’ve all seen it in our marriages–when you treat someone graciously, they are more likely to be gracious to you in return. We want people to lead generous lives–and I don’t just mean in terms of their finances, but also in how they carry themselves. “Generosity of spirit” precedes generous giving, and “generosity of spirit” manifests itself in how you honor others, how you respond when someone gets ahead of you in line at the supermarket, how quickly you are to take the “low” place, and how willingly you take the lesser so that another might have the greater.

The most important reason we want to have a culture of generosity is because generosity helps preach the Gospel. Recently I was speaking at an event where the hosts were so incredibly gracious to me–not only did they pay me graciously, they really tried to take care of my family, going over the top to make sure Veronica and I had childcare when we needed it, made sure we got to eat dinner at some nice places, and that our kids had lots of opportunities for a good time. I finally said to the guy who was hosting me, Mike, “Wow, you are some of the most generous people I’ve ever been around.” His response was simple but profound… he said, almost as an aside, “Well, Christ has been really generous to us. We love to reflect that to others.”

In that moment, he preached the Gospel to me and again warmed my heart to Jesus. He made me reflect on Christ’s generosity to me.

This is why we go so overboard at the Summit to make guests feel welcome. By the way we greet them, help them park their cars, help them get out of the rain, and take their kids, we are beginning to preach the Gospel to them.