The Benefits of Generosity
Are people predisposed to being selfish and self-serving? We humans seem to come out of the womb wanting. If you've had to care for a newborn, you understand what I'm talking about. But is that our design, or is there more that explains our selfishness?
Naturally Wired For Generosity
Generosity is important to our lives. Although it may not seem like it by the way we start out in life, we are naturally wired to be generous. But before I go any further, let me accurately define what generosity is. Generosity is the act of being kind, selfless, and giving to others. Notice there is nothing specific in that definition about giving money, although it can include money. This is important because most of us equate generosity with giving money. The danger with only seeing this as a financial transaction is that you could miss the real motivation behind giving, which is kindness, and selflessness. Only when these motivations are present are the benefits of giving realized.
Generosity is Exponential
Being king, selfless, and giving to others turns out to be good for us. When we give to someone, it reciprocates, meaning our giving spurs them and others also to give. It's exponential! Acts of kindness and generosity have a multiplying effect, and there's a psychological reason for this.
Generosity is Contagious
The part of our brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust gets energized when we are generous, making us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This happens whether we are the giver or we witness an act of generosity. Remember the last scene in the movie "It's A Wonderful Life?" The bank examiner, Carter, for those of you who can never remember his name, who almost shut down the Bailey Building & Loan, ends up giving of his own money to save it instead. Why? Simple, he got caught up in the generosity frenzy that was happening. It's contagious, and it's the most spiritual thing we have the privilege of doing.
In a study participants were given money and then randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group was to use the money to spend on themselves while the other group was to spend the money on others. Time and time again, the group that spends the money on others reported a greater level of happiness. These findings were proven through fMRI, which confirmed the direct connection between generosity and happiness. Giving makes us feel happy.
Why We Don’t Give
So, where does this selfishness originate from? What is it that stops us from consistently being generous?
According to neuroscience, although our default is to be generous, we can accidentally or intentionally override our natural inclination to give by over-relying on the "thinking" parts of our brain. Rather than following our natural impulse to be kind, we can come up with reasons why we shouldn't give. We may be afraid of not having enough for ourselves, or we want to use what we have on ourselves. We assume that giving to others will cause us to experience loss, resulting in unhappiness, when the opposite is true.
God's word confirms this truth. "Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full - pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back." Luke 6:38. God specifically tells us that to the degree that we give, we will receive. That means if we give much, we will receive much, but if we give little or nothing, we will receive little or nothing.
God’s Goal For Generosity
Giving is for our own good. Not only does giving bring us happiness, but it also does something even more critical. Giving acts against the selfishness and greed that's associated with our sinful nature, something Jesus died to set us free from. When we give, we destroy the power of selfishness and self-reliance in our lives, and we are drawn into a trusting and dependent relationship with God. We become what God has purposed us to be; kind and selfless givers.
Share one story of generosity so others can be inspired and motivated towards generosity.
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