“Flipping the blessing is leveraging your time, your talents, and your treasure for others. Your generosity is as unique as your are, but you have to figure out how to put your footprint on it.”- Mark Batterson
“For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also for us.”- 2 Corinthians 8:3-5
As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 12 of Double Blessing, he observes that when you get a God-sized vision, you grow with that vision. And that vision grows with you. Thus, you never really get there. But, as you continue to excel, at some point you reach excellence and beyond.
Consequently, Pastor Batterson offers four steps to help you grow in the grace of giving:
- Give spontaneously. While this is Spirit-led generosity, Mark exhorts, you still need to plan. Therefore, create financial margin and calendar margin so you meet needs and seize opportunities when prompted by the Holy Spirit. Thus, the apostle Paul applauded the spontaneity and generosity of the Macedonian Christians in his second letter to the Corinthians.
- Give consistently. Establishing consistent habits daily disciplines, and regular routines = the key to growth in any area of your life. In the process you create a baseline, or trend line of generosity.
- Give proportionately. To grow in the grace of giving, Mark contends, you must think in terms of percentages, not dollar amounts.
- Giving radically. Finally, Pastor Batterson defines a radical giver as someone: (a) with an abundance mind set; (b) who counts the opportunity cost; and (c) who doesn’t just love to give – but lives to give. Certainly, this kind of generosity doesn’t occur overnight. However, it’s the place where generosity sets its sights.
Today’s question: How are you leveraging your time, talent, and treasure? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “”Our flipping attitude vs. flipping the blessing”
