The message that the world tells us is all about me. Making sure that I get “my time”.  That is “my money” to spend. My goals and my plans. It is all about me. But that is not the way we are to live. As Christians,  we are to give, to be generous.  Our focus should be on others and not ourselves.

Christ has given us an example of giving and living generously. His interaction with the Samaritan woman was when he was tired and traveling but he spent the time with her. He gave his time to share the truth with her. We have an example of how to live generously.

Selfishness was listed as one of the things that will hinder us as we work to achieve our goals. Selfishness is thinking about yourself and putting yourself first.

Are you reading this and wondering how this could be? Maybe you are thinking, “I thought these were my goals and I am the one that is supposed to work on the goals so should I be selfish to get those goals done?”

Let’s talk through that.

Yes, while these are your goals hopefully as you were setting the goals you were praying and asking God to guide you. So these are not your goals. These are God’s goals for you. It might not look like it is much different but pause and think about it. There is a big difference there. These goals are God’s goals for you.

When we get the mindset that our goals depend solely on our work, we are missing so much of what God has called us to do. Our work should be through the Lord and his work in us.

How does selfish hinder us?

One way this happens is when we are selfish, the focus is on us and not others. We want to accomplish the goal no matter what. We are focusing on what we want.

 

Generous Living will overcome selfishness

Adding the word generous means more than giving. Generous has the idea of giving more and more. You know the generous helping of chocolate sauce versus the stingy dribble of chocolate sauce. Be generous in your living.

Be generous with your time. Have an attitude of valuing the person you are with. Listen to people, be genuinely interested in people.

Be generous with your resources. Are you willing to share and give to others from what you have? It is not just money but so many other ways that you can be generous.

Have a heart attitude of loving and giving others.

I will honestly say that I am not sure how God will use that generous living to help you reach your goals but I can say that generous living is pleasing to God. We are honoring and pleasing God when we are giving. (Proverbs 3:9)

As I look at my goals for this year, a number of my goals are growing relationships with others. The one thing that will grow relationships is giving, both giving my time and my resources.

So how can you give this week? Maybe it is a meal, maybe it is a note saying you are thinking of that person. Strive to be generous to those around you.

Here are the other Disciplines for Success, grateful, self-denial, diligence, and humility.