The sixth BridgePointe values is Open-Handed Generosity.
This is BridgePointe’s definition of Open-Handed Generosity.
Solomon writes this verse in Ecclesiastes. “Bread” was synonymous with the essence of life in many ancient cultures- including ancient Israel. It’s place in society was equal to money. We see this paralleled by Christ who refers to Himself as the, “Bread of Life” (John 6:35). Even in modern times, we use “bread” or “dough” as slang for money. Ancient Hebrew artistic tradition used, “waters” to symbolize anything vast and/or mysterious. We see this in Genesis 1 when the Spirit of God, “hovered over the waters.” The waters in Genesis symbolize the vastness and mystery of the pre-created universe. So when Solomon says, “cast thy bread upon the waters…” he is encouraging us to be generous by giving away our money, even if we don’t understand how or when it will come back to us.
Generosity is never marketed in the Bible as a way to leverage your finances to meet your own financial goals.
Generosity in the Bible primarily applies to finances. We can be generous with our time, talents, and relationships. But God primarily encourages us to be generous with our money.
There is no need for rose colored glasses. Giving away your money, even for a good cause, will leave you with less money than you started with.
Even so, God says that we should be generous with our finances.
Generosity does not have an impersonal rational behind it because it is an act of self-sacrifice. Therefore we do not need to ask, “why should we be generous?” Rather, we need to ask, “who is calling us to be generous?” This is because our financial habits ultimately declare who is Lord of our life. If we follow Christ’s commands to be generous then we declare Him to be Lord. Generosity is part of our testimony.
Reality is harsh in that many people have no money. Even more, many of us face seasons where money is a struggle. We cannot easily claim that financial hardship keeps us from being generous because Christ even highlights the widow who even gave away her last $0.02 (Mark 12:42). However, when we truly are unable to be financially generous we can still be generous with our testimony and the gifts that God has given us. Notice that when both the apostle Peter and Paul had, quite literally, no money they still glorified God and used their talents (healing in Peter’s case, shrewdness in Paul’s) to edify others.
Pray and invite God to develop generosity in your heart in these two areas.