Have you ever thought maybe you were being too generous? 

For example, Christmas is coming and you are thinking about buying a gift for a special someone. The only problem is that the gift is well beyond your budget, but it’s such a perfect gift and exactly the item you know that special someone would absolutely love. The dilemma running through your mind is one of lack, fearing that if you spend too much on one person then you won’t have enough for everything and everyone else on your list. 

You’re on your own when it comes to that dilemma, but here is some good news for you. When it comes to God, there is no dilemma at all when it comes to the idea of being too generous. We simply cannot out-give God. You can try, but you’ll soon find that God cannot be out-given or out-done in any way. We cannot be too generous when it comes to investing into the things of God. In today’s passage, Jesus addressed this issue in people’s hearts with his words. He encouraged the freedom to give without fearing that we would become the loser in our giving. Jesus wanted to set the listener free from the fear of giving too much. He will return more to you, in one way or another, than you give to Him. Poverty is never the end result of generosity. 

The principle laid out in this verse is related to all areas of generosity. We can also be generous with our time, talents, focus, energy, and also money. In each of these areas, we should be free from the fear of lacking because of too much generosity. God will measure unto us according to the same measure we use for others. This is a powerful motivation for us to be generous with love, forgiveness, and goodness to others. If we want more of those things from God, we should give more of them to others. God is pulling from a never-ending pool of resources and He is faithful to provide everything we need. He is looking to pour His blessings from His endless reserves on those who are not stockpiling what He’s already given them.

A common word you hear thrown around in our world is scarcity. It’s the idea that there is a finite amount of something and we are running out of it. You’ll hear about the scarcity of water, oil, food, and you may even hear from time to time that we are running out of or short on coffee beans, aluminum ore or truffles. The list goes on and on, and sometimes the perceived scarcity of something causes people to panic and make questionable decisions based on fear. Most of the news or reports about scarcity are lies simply meant to drive up the price of a commodity, but the underlying idea is true. Eventually, everything on earth will fade. It’s not going to last. Only the eternal things of God will truly last. 

One of the cures for scarcity is dependence on God. Think about it. One thing promised in today’s verse is that whatever God gives to you will run over. This means that you will have more than enough, more than what you can use in your own life, and you will actually have enough of an overflow that you can then help others in need. There is always someone in your world that needs more of what is overflowing from your life. It could be an overflow of faith, joy, hope, contentment, or even tangible blessings. The cure for lack has always been trusting in God. You can be the conduit in your community to disperse the overflow of the blessings of God. What an amazing thought! You can make an impact in your world not only for today, but for future generations! 

Let’s be people who leave a legacy of never withholding our generosity and living a life of overflow!