Linda Bailey is currently away. Her new devotionals will begin again on the 1st February, 2010. In the meantime, here is a Daily Devotion that has been significant for one of my readers..

Generosity is not about the amount of money in your wallet, generosity is an expression of your heart.

Proverbs 21:1-31

Reference:  v.26  All day long he (the sluggard) craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  I know a guy who would love to be a millionnaire.  While he is currently working a standard job, he is always on the look out for a quick way to make money.  I bumped in to this guy after one of my mission trips to the Philippines.  He asked me about what it was like over there and I told him about the child sponsorship areas we had visited and some of the affects that poverty has had on thousands of the Filipino people.  "You see," he said to me, "when I'm a millionnaire I'd give money to help those kind of people."  Now, I don't know if this guy will ever become a millionnaire but I could be pretty sure that if he does he wont be giving his money away to those in need.  This guy had a 'millionnaire mindset'.  He thought that everything would be smooth sailing once he was a millionnaire so he would suddenly change his attitude and be more generous.  However, generosity is not about the amount of money in your wallet, generosity is an expression of your heart.  If you are not generous with the little you have, it is unlikely you will become generous when you have more.

Application:  Some of the most generous people I know are those that only have a little.  They may not be able to give large sums of money but they find ways to share what little they have with the others around them.  They have a generous spirit.  Having large sums of money does not make you generous because large is never enough.  If you did not have a generous spirit before you became wealthy, extra money is not going to bring that sort of spirit to life!  It is better for us to work less on obtaining a particular figure of money and work more towards being people who are generous... no matter how much money we have.

Prayer:  Lord, all things we have come from You.  May we not hold on to our wealth and possessions too tightly but be willing to pass them on to others in need.  Amen.

Would others say that you have a generous spirit?