Generosity, part I

I have been thinking a lot about generosity.  I have always considered myself a pretty "content" person.  I've never been much into flashy clothes or designer purses or expensive cars.  Couple that with the fact that I'm married to someone who has the spiritual gift of giving, and I'm good to go.  Not materialistic at all....right?

We often tell our kids that they own nothing.  Everything they have is God's and He has allowed them to steward it for a season.  We tell them that God wants us to be generous with others because He has been generous with us. But I wonder if they see that in me.

A few weeks ago, a friend was telling me how God was asking her to give more of her money.  She told me matter-of-factly that this would sometimes mean giving out of the extra in her budget, but that sometimes it would mean giving instead of paying a bill.  My initial reaction, mentally, was that this kind of thinking was not financially sound, and God would not want us to operate that way.  I have been pondering this for weeks.

In this culture, where we are so bufferend from poverty, I know what it means to give out of abundance...but what does it mean to give out of our poverty?
More to come...