…the fruit of the spirit is…generosity… Galatians 5:22 (NRSV)
“Our generosity is the work of the Holy Spirit— the work of God within us…It appears as though we develop our generosity on our own, but this is not the case. The Holy Spirit brings forth our generosity…To gain some sense of understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit is to overcome the notion that Christian generosity is some form of achievement…
God is the one who set us free from selfish pursuits. God sets us free from the pursuit of the self because he sets us free from the desire for more, and more, and more. He gives us what we truly desire, the gift of himself, in whom all happiness is contained. We will never completely understand this process because it is the work of God and our “unselving,” our conversion, our surrender, is the work of the Holy Spirit.
This means that it is not our achievement, but rather it is a gift, which is cause for us to be grateful to God. It is by God’s grace, not our own achievement that we surrender. This is cause to be grateful, not proud. Our contribution is to surrender to God; this is a matter of humility, not pride.
Generosity is a disposition of “unselving,” of surrender; it is not a skilled method to be accomplished. Generosity must be one with the Holy Spirit, God in us, a submission to God’s movement in us. It is a matter of releasing the desires of this temporal world so that we may connect with God.”
Harry Verhiley in white paper entitled, Generosity-Cause For Pride?