We’ve all been presented at some point with this hypothetical question: What would you wish for if you had three wishes? It’s the Aladdin scenario. What would you do? What would you wish for? There have been surveys done on this topic and the most common answers deal with health, wealth and happiness. Most people in this scenario wish for something related to wealth and riches with at least one of their wishes. They see that life of incredible wealth as something from a dream; a life of happiness and contentment. Most people, who, in reality, are incredibly wealthy would tell you that money doesn’t buy happiness. In reality, the pursuit and possession of great amounts of financial wealth usually leads to a form of stress, pressure and anxiousness all on its own. But despite these warnings, the dreams continue.

This doesn’t have to be the case. There are many people also who have great wealth and also are incredibly content and joyful about life. The point isn’t about how much you have, but how to perceive what you have and what you do with it. Once again, there is nothing inherently wrong with being wealthy. The problem and sin arises when our view of money becomes unhealthy and idolatrous, taking our eyes off our creator and onto something created. It’s so easy to fall into a trap of greed, envy and pride. Today’s verse tells us that real life and real living are not related to how rich we are and we cannot allow our flesh to rule our spirit in this way. A heart that is constantly wishing for wealth is a heart that is tied to that wealth in a way that could lead to many problems. A wrong view of money and financial blessings will always lead us away from living open-handed and generous and away from what God truly desires for us. 

The truth is, most people have a desire to be generous. We would all like to buy something nice for a friend, throw fancy parties and be positioned to help people in need. Many people have this desire, but they don’t feel like they have the ability. They may think they can’t afford to be generous or to give away what they own. It’s been said countless times of people that they would give away more, if only they made more money. One day they hope to be able to bless others and to live open-handed. But they wrongly believe that generosity is contingent upon the amount of money they possess. 

The opposite is actually true. Generosity is a mindset and a position of your heart and not based on your financial circumstances. If you are not generous with what you have now, you won’t be generous if your wish were to come true and you suddenly had more. But, if you can learn to be generous with what you have now, God knows that when He pours greater blessings on you, you will continue to allow that blessing to flow through you and not end with you. You will become more generous over time, not out of obligation or by accident, but generous on purpose and with a willing and joyful spirit. 

You will never meet anyone who grows closer to Jesus over their lifetime and becomes less generous over that same period. It just doesn’t happen. Generosity is a byproduct of continually pursuing Christ. When we truly pursue Christ, we become more and more like him, and in that way, we cannot help but become more and more generous, because that is who Christ is. He is love, He is kindness, and He is generosity. We only have the ability to be generous because He gave first. Don’t be wishing for what you don’t have; instead, realize what you do have in Christ!

Let’s be people who leave a legacy of setting our hope on what we already have in Christ!