Can we afford to be generous?
After all, there are so many arguments for why we shouldn’t be. And not just with our “stuff.” If we freely share our ideas, what if someone else takes credit for them? If we gladly donate our skills and time, what if someone takes advantage of us? And, of course, what if we end up needing the money or items we’re thinking of giving away?
From a personal perspective, the decision to be generous may not feel like an obvious one. Yet Christ Jesus taught, “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). But what if we don’t feel that we have freely received – that we’re lacking ideas, skills, time, or money?
Jesus didn’t preface his instruction with an “if” – “If you have freely received, freely give.” His statement assumes that we have freely received.
This was not guesswork on his part. He knew the source of our supply to be God, good. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus assured us that if we seek first “the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, … all these things shall be added unto you” (see Matthew 6:25-34). The discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, expands on this teaching when she writes, “God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies” (“Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,” p. 307).
Turning to God in prayer, silencing our own will and humbly listening for God’s direction – and then changing the way we think and act in accordance with what we hear – is a good way to go about seeking His kingdom. In God’s kingdom, everything is and must be Godlike. So it’s entirely natural for us to shed a false sense of ourselves as selfish, limited, and lacking.
The angel messages God is sending us assure us that, as it says in Genesis 1:26, 27, we are made in His image and likeness. Because He is good and beautiful, we, in reality, must also be good and beautiful. And because God is All – infinite and perfect – God never lacks. Therefore, we, reflecting Him, never lack. He creates all and all that He creates is good, complete, lacking nothing, and that includes each of us.
When we recognize God as the source of all good, we’re not afraid to be generous. When we understand who we are as God’s children – His heirs, as Paul tells us (see Romans 8:16, 17) – then we also understand that He is forever pouring out His bounty on us.
As we recognize ourselves as God’s, Spirit’s, beloved creation, we also start recognizing our fellow man in the same way – seeing ourselves and others as spiritual, not material, as good, loving, honest, caring, and worthy. That is, we become more generous not only with what we have to give but also in our view of our fellow men and women.
This true view necessarily includes understanding that health and supply are present for everyone, even where these seem to be lacking. This understanding can and does lead to healing.
The Bible records this happening consistently in the ministry of Jesus, who always saw others as God sees them. On one occasion, Jesus healed the sick among a crowd of well over 5,000 people who had gathered to seek his help (see Matthew 14:14-21). That evening, however, the crowd was still there, and he was faced with the same number of hungry people.
Jesus told his disciples to feed them. The disciples were baffled. All they had available were five loaves of bread and two fish. That might have fed Jesus and the disciples, but “about five thousand men, beside women and children”?
Jesus was not in the least bit afraid to share what was available with those who had come to him to learn and to be healed. He took the loaves and fish, blessed them, and handed them to the disciples to distribute. Not only was everyone satisfied, but there were 12 baskets full of leftovers.
We might not quite yet be demonstrating feeding the multitudes as Jesus did. But as we grow spiritually, we begin to see everything from a more spiritual perspective and, little by little, to see the abundance in which our heavenly Father has enfolded us. We become less afraid that we can lose anything by giving to others. We understand that they, like we, are the loved children of God, Love, fed by the same heavenly bread that feeds us.
All arguments against expressing a generous nature dissolve in the light of God’s grace and glory. Freely we have received, so freely we can give!
Adapted from an editorial published in the Sept. 22, 2025, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
