Generous

One of the qualities of the growing Christian life involves a sense of generosity.   As we love God with all that we are, we develop a love for others and our hearts are expanded to be more
compassionate. 1st Timothy 6 says:
17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,
19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

It seems to me that we are to possess a readiness to share whatever resources God gives to us.  All we own, as it's been said, belongs to Him, and He will choose to allow us to keep some of those possessions, or direct us to use them to bless others.   If we don't cling too tightly to what we think we have, then we develop a generous heart, a heart that is ready to do good with what the Lord has provided for us.  In so doing, as Jesus taught, we lay up "treasures in heaven."

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In Matthew 6, Jesus spoke on the topic of generosity, a quality that flows from our relationship with Him:

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

The Barna Group has spotlighted the practices of various cities in America. It has ranked the most and least churched cities, the most Bible-minded cities, and the most post-Christian cities in America. It has now released a ranking of the 50 most generous cities in America. This has been measured by, as its website says, "the percentage of those who donated any money to charities and nonprofit organizations, including churches and religious organizations."

Your top 5 are:

1. El Paso, TX / Las Cruces, NM, with 92% indicating that they gave to charities or nonprofits
2. Lexington, KY: 91%
3. Memphis, TN: 90%
4. Charleston-Huntington, WV: 90%
5. Milwaukee, WI: 89%

Something very interesting about the numbers here: Barna looked closer at the socio-economic status of the city. For the El Paso, TX / Las Cruces, NM area, only 7 percent were considered “upscale,” which is defined as adults who have an annual household income of $75,000 or more and hold a college degree, compared to 13 percent “downscale,” which consists of adults with an annual household income of $20,000 or less and no college degree. Conclusion, according to the summary of the survey: "This goes to show that the most generous cities aren’t necessarily the most wealthy." In fact, all but one of the top five cities had larger downscale populations than upscale - Milwaukee, with a 12%-10% ratio.

And, in the top 5, the majority of the dollars given go to churches.

While the survey summary does not discuss motivation for giving, I thought it would be interesting to compare the top 10 most generous cities and the top 10 Bible-minded cities.  Now, keep in mind, these surveys are based on the size of the media market.  For instance, in Alabama, Montgomery and Dothan are not in the top 100, but Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa is considered a media market or Designated Market Area (DMA).   That market is #2 in the Bible-minded city survey, 43rd in the generosity survey.  Uh-oh...

Chattanooga, the top Bible-minded city, is not listed in Barna's top 50 generous cities list.

El Paso/Las Cruces, the top city regarding generosity - #50 among Bible-minded cities.

The only city in the top 10 of both surveys:  Lexington, KY - #2 in generosity, 10th in Bible-mindedness.   Also, there's Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson, just outside the top 10, at #11 in generosity and #9 in Bible-mindedness.   Oh, and in Alabama, Huntsville/Decatur/Florence placed 14th in generosity and 12th in Bible-mindedness.

Just a little fun, non-scientific comparison, but you can be challenged to think - does our knowledge of the Bible translate into our giving?   And, in a broader sense, is our Bible knowledge manifested through our actions.  

James examined that dichotomy in the 2nd chapter of his book - He said that faith without works is dead, and that we are to demonstrate our faith through our actions.

The Bible will inform our actions, and through our study of the Word of God and our devotion to application, we can discover the power to see His truth expressed through our lives.  And, the Bible speaks plainly to the use of our financial resources.    As the Barna Group survey indicates, the activity of giving is not determined by what we possess.  I would say that we all have the same capacity to give - the amount may differ based on income, but no matter how much a person makes or doesn't make, everyone can participate in being generous.

And, remember, giving of what God has entrusted to us constitutes an act of worship that brings pleasure to our Heavenly Father.