Devotions from James Smith’s book, The Good and Beautiful Community

The good and beautiful community is prevented from generosity by the false narrative that: what I have is mine to use for my own pleasure. Mine. Mine. Mine! This makes us feel entitled and teaches us that what we possess, money, time or abilities, are ours to use for our own gain and not for the benefit of others. We may think we deserve it and earned it, so we can use it any way we feel like it. We get to choose because our possessions are ours. The true narrative is” What appears to be mine is really God’s.  Nothing we have is really ours. It is all a gift from God. He has given us each a little kingdom and he wants us to be stewards of it and use our body, talents, and money to produce good things,

What is ours is really God’s and we need to ask Him how we can use the gifts He has given us.

Generosity is other-centered and greed is self-centered. Let us not think of ourselves first but be kingdom focused.  Then we can be conduits of His connecting what we have with those in need.