What motivates you to generosity?

Generosity is a primary tenant of the world's religions, and the followers respond out of gratitude, directives or the hope of a better spot in heaven. The irreligious embrace the practice as a moral imperative to meet the needs of the suffering and a desire to combat the wrongs in the world. For others, the motivation may stem from the tax write-off, their name on the University building or their legacy.

The feelings that wash over you as you extend yourself to meet the needs of others can be rather intoxicating. The desire to regularly visit the prison, serve at the soup kitchen or pull together Christmas shoe boxes for overseas orphans provide direct feedback of help offered and received. Meeting new people, sharing life and knowing you have helped someone in need, delivers quite the endorphin rush.

Does sad music dubbed over video of the abused animals stir your heart and move your feet into action or is it another cause that has your attention? How about the media blitz that follows a natural disaster or a viral stunt like the ALS ice bucket challenge a couple of years ago? The Bible discusses giving in secret, not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Before I rap my gavel on the bench in judgment, I have found myself hoping just a little bit, which I would be found out, to earn a few pats on the back. What do you think about giving anonymously?

Those that have struggled on the hairy edge of survival can easily recount the generous occurrences of someone coming to their aid. I haven't been on the street, but my hairy edge experiences are enough to recall these memories of kindness that are consecrated in my mind for a lifetime. I have experienced the impact of the lower level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs not being met. I stay in fight or flight with sustained elevated cortisol levels that prevents my body from achieving rest and healing until these basic needs are met.

Going Further: How does your faith inform your generosity? How have your motives toward generosity changed? What characterizes your generosity? How do you like to be generous? What is a personal favorite story of generosity? How can you grow in this virtue?

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Who taught you to be generous?

I would often be the last one waiting for a ride home from Granite Mountain Junior High. Eventually, the Ford truck with the burgundy stripe would pull up and my dad, grinning from ear-to-ear would apologize for running behind and then explain why he was running late. More often than not, it would involve helping someone in some capacity. Helping a customer with a flat tire, negotiating a driver to pick up another little old lady at the airport or bringing a smile to someone's face. The list was endless, frustrating and difficult to justify feelings of bitterness.

The first place I learned to be generous was at home. Cash was not plentiful, but generosity through service, work and positive encouragement was in abundance. This early example set the tone for my default when I think of being generous. Fixing a toilet, moving a household and coordinating party logistics were my recent opportunities to give.

How you apply the abundance in your life to care for those around you are just as diverse as our fingerprints. Your biography includes a history of spending your time, talents and resources to make the world a better place. How did your early examples influence your current perspective? No doubt, there are particular people and acts of giving that flood your mind, and you can see the roots of these examples sprouting in your life today. What are some of those stories? 

We may never live up to some of these early examples and may fall woefully short at other times. A missed opportunity I will always remember, was during an evening walk in Lisbon Portugal in 2000. A severely disfigured man shook his donation cup for some coins, and I never slowed my stride as I passed. Today, I would like to think; I would respond differently to the gentleman.

The good news is that you are being watched and are busy teaching the next generation how to exemplify generosity. The young child watches his father, and the aggressive intern that wants to run the company is watching how the CEO displays her generosity. Giving is a skill worth honing to make the world a better place and even if you're not concerned about the world out there; you never know what the future holds and you may need to be on the receiving end.

Going Further: What is that distinct memory of generosity that came to mind earlier in the posting? How did this event shape you? Have you ever shared the impact of this experience with the person who exemplified generosity for you? Who do you know is watching your example of generosity?