Living a Life of Radical Generosity

Excerpted with permission from A Short Guide to Gospel Generosity by Nathan Harris.

Money. It’s everywhere. Well, not literally, but it is easy to see how that figurative language isn’t exactly hyperbole.

Money may not be falling all around us, growing from a tree, or being handed out freely, but we think about it every day. We work absurd schedules to make more of it, we save it for our futures and our families, and we often spend it quicker than it appears. If money isn’t already at the forefront of your mind, then let our culture remind you about it on a daily basis. It’s impossible to escape hearing about money when we turn on the T.V., watch movies, or even listen to music.

Every news station nationwide can quickly alter your mood, and the rest of its viewers, by informing us about the current state of the stock market or bemoaning the rising cost of living. Movies have been written, directed, and produced to exhibit the seemingly glorious life of wealth and the benefits of money. And no matter the genre, musicians for decades have focused on money as the main theme of one’s life. In many ways, with a focus on accruing wealth, it seems like we are all living as if life is “all about the Benjamins.”

The world tells us, “The more money you have, the happier you will be!” By culture defining success and happiness as the life for the one who has means, we’ve lost all awareness of what it means to give instead of to receive. Our focus has become purely on accumulating and displaying our wealth, instead of stewarding and giving what we have. Money is now a means to happiness and not a means for radical generosity.

But culture isn’t the only one to blame for how we save and spend our money while neglecting to give generously. Even within certain Christian circles, we have heard for years that we must be good stewards of our money; therefore, we must save every penny we have. Under this teaching, the Christian’s highest aim for money is to save at all costs, which includes eating rice and beans for every dinner. Why? All for the sake of saving money and to give a Christian a sense of financial peace. While I say that somewhat tongue in cheek, I don’t disagree with the notion of being good financial stewards. But for a Christian to be a financial steward of their money without living a life of radical generosity is like being a musician without an instrument or a pilot without a plane. In either of those cases, you are missing a very important part of who you are and how you live your life. For Christians, you can’t be a steward of your finances without living out your call to generosity. The issue with focusing so much on saving money is that it often makes us believe that financial peace only comes through money. We tend to trust in our ability to save, and not the sufficiency of God to provide. Ultimately, in fear of losing our newfound financial peace, we ignore the Christian’s call to give. We are told to, “save, save, save,” but the Gospel calls us to “give, give, give.”

Surely, there is more to life than just gaining and saving money, right? I answer that question with a hearty, yes! The Gospel calls Christians to a life of radical generosity.