“Generosity happens when a person is living from a condition of abundance or when a person is moved by the needs of others. If I have three hundred tomatoes, it is easy for me to give dozens away. I have more than I need. I am giving out of my surplus…
But I can also be generous even when I have little. I may have only one tomato, but if I see a poor woman who has none, I may very well be moved to give my last tomato to her.
Generosity then flows from either a sense of abundance or a feeling of compassion. God is moved by both. God is generous because he lives in a condition of abundance–his provisions can never be exhausted–and God is moved because he sees our need.
So why do we seldom live generously?
We live from a condition of scarcity. We never got enough love from our parents, enough toys on our birthday and enough affirmation from those who know us. Our checking account is limited and often our money is spent before we earn it. Living from a condition of scarcity, we learn that we must protect what we have. If we give it away we might end up in dire straits.”
James Bryan Smith in The God and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2009) 84-85.