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If you are a normal human being, you likely think about money every single day. It's only natural. The real problem is that we rarely feel good about our financial situation. We're always worrying. 

How can we stop worrying about money all the time?

The Bible is clear: the key to being free from worry in regard to our money, is to practice generosity (See Matthew 6:18-34, and listen to last Sunday's sermon titled "Wealth and Worry"). 

Below are some additional thoughts that will help frame our understanding of generosity. 

1. Generosity is not something we want from you; it's something we want for you.

If you've spent any time in church, you've likely been present when a preacher makes an appeal for money ("here we go again..."). But the primary purpose of the offering is not to create an opportunity for the church to get money from people. The primary purpose of the offering is to give people an opportunity to experience the blessing of giving. 

You see, the source of church resources is not people; it's God. He is the one who supplies everything the church needs. If you or I refuse to participate as a conduit of God's supply, he will find another way...but it's we who miss out. 

Jesus said "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). When we give, something spiritual is happening in heaven, and we are positioning ourselves to be recipients of God's blessing (see Malachi 3:10). 

2. Generosity is a matter of the heart, not the wallet.

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). 

This verse is so important. God is less interested in religious adherence to the commands to give than he is about the heart behind our giving (see Matthew 6:1-4). 

Giving is such a powerful act that it shapes and directs the heart. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). Sometimes the best way to increase your passion for something is to start investing your money into it, because your heart will always go where your treasure is. 

3. Generosity is about sowing, not spending. 

A farmer never spends his seed; he sows it. That means the seed he puts in the ground doesn't disappear forever. It returns to him as an abundant harvest. 

“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)

This is a powerful principle, but we mustn't misunderstand it. Just because you put $10 into the offering plate, doesn't mean you'll find $100 in the parking lot on your way out. 2 Corinthians 9:10 tells us that when we sow finances into God's kingdom we reap a "harvest of righteousness." Which, by the way, is more valuable than mere money. 

4. Being generous is one of the most Christ-like things we can do. 

God's love for the world caused him to do what? GIVE (John 3:16). God the Father is the most generous giver of all, and God the Son reflects that family trait:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). 

When we practice generosity, we are following the in the mighty footsteps of our Lord. To be generous means that we have given so much away that we need to adjust our lifestyle. We might have to go on one less vacation. We might not get to wear the latest fashion. We might not be able to afford a daily grande latte.

That is the example of Jesus. He changed everything about himself in order to be generous to us. He left heaven, set aside his divinity, became a poor travelling preacher with no place to lay his head, and then he died on a cross - the greatest act of generosity ever. 

So what is God saying to you about generosity? How can you grow in this area?