So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33
“Together the three studies provide robust and consistent support to our proposition that attachment style associates with generosity, and that the enhancement of attachment security leads to increased generosity. We were able to both assess and manipulate attachment on the one hand and assess different aspects of generosity (emotional, motivational, and behavioral) on the other. This enabled us to take advantage of both the experimentally controlled observations as well as behavior under naturalistic real-world settings…Overall, our studies showed that avoidance was associated with less generosity, and making people more secure, or providing them with mental resources resulted in more generous behavior.”
Gillath, Atchley, Imran, and El-Hodiri in “Examining the Experience and Enhancement of Generous Behavior via Attachment Security” research presented at the International Association for Relationship Research Conference in Chicago, IL in 2012.
I’ve shifted my focus for the foreseeable future from ancient to modern research related to generosity.
And the header photo reflects a cool new cabinet in our home which looks like the front of research library.
Today’s study looks attachment and generosity. Most studies show four kinds of attachment: Anxious (or Preoccupied), Avoidant (or Dismissive), Disorganized (or Fear-Avoidant), and Secure.
The research shows that avoidant attachment results in less generosity and the more secure people feel, the more generous they become. It makes sense.
And, for those of us who want to encourage greater generosity, the study shows we should provide people of all attachments with mental resources to help them grow in security.
Consider the impact of verses like today’s Scripture!
Rather than be anxious or fearful of the future, we can be generous today because we know our Father in heaven cares for our needs.
How might you help people feel more secure to help them grow in generosity?