Regardless of what the balance is in our bank accounts, we are rich in Christ. God has held nothing back from us; we have every single blessing in the heavens already because of Jesus. This, too, will help us to be generous.

The Bible pays a lot of attention to the way we think. Take, for example, Paul’s words in Romans 12:

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

This is a verse about transformation. That transformation is something that has happened, and yet continues to happen in the life of the Christian. When we believe in the truth of the gospel, we become something different. We are made into a new creation. Then we behave according to what we have become.

That’s the three-step process: Believe. Become. Behave. Our faith leads to transformation which leads to a different set of behaviors. Tucked inside that formula is the importance of the way we think. True transformation begins in the mind before it hits our actions.

Put another way, our actions don’t start with our willpower; they start in our minds. If we want to choose the good and godly way of behavior, then we ought to have the right mindset. Which brings us to the topic of generosity. 

Generosity is a choice, and it’s a choice God expects us to make as His children:

The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:6-7).

God not only desires us to make generous choices, but He desires us to do it with a joyful heart. That can many times be difficult to do, can’t it?

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