Why Generosity Feels So Hard
Daily Life

Why Generosity Feels So Hard

B2Upper-intermediateOctober 21, 20262 min
  • Religion

The Macedonian believers were broke, persecuted, and overflowing with generosity. Their secret? They gave themselves to God first. Everything else followed.

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Think about the last time you gave above your normal giving. Was it hard? Was it life-giving?

, . ,

They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing the gift for believers in Jerusalem.

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B2 · Upper-intermediate

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0:00

Think about the last time you gave above your normal giving. Was it hard? Was it life-giving? In 2 Corinthians 8 verses 4 and 5, listen to the story Paul shares. He says, They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing the gift for believers in Jerusalem. They did even more than we had hoped for, for their first action was to give themselves to

0:24

the Lord and to us just as God wanted them to do. The they, Paul's referring to, are the three churches in Macedonia and what makes their generosity so remarkable is these believers, they had nothing. They were very poor and living under the pressure of Roman persecution and yet yet they begged. They begged for the privilege of giving to help others. You'd think they'd

0:57

be clinging tightly to what little they had, but no, they were looking for more opportunities to be generous. Now, how did that happen? I mean, it wasn't some great sermon or a podcast on generosity. So where does that kind of generosity come from? Well, Paul tells us exactly where it comes from. They gave themselves first to the Lord. They were completely enamored

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