Live Great. Start Small.
Lately I’ve been reading a great book, “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell…by the way…as I step up on my soapbox, I want to encourage you to invest time in reading. Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body; and our awesome God gave us too great a mind to not exercise it regularly, take some time to read today!
Alright, now that we’ve had that public service announcement, let me share a great statement Gladwell makes in “Outliers”:
“Extraordinary achievement is less about talent than it is about opportunity.” Malcom Gladwell
What a rich truth! “Extraordinary achievement” aka “greatness” does not hinge on talent. In other words, you don’t require a special ability or aptitude to live greatly. All you need is an opportunity.
Opportunity: a time or situation in which something can be done.
I shared with you last week that many “great” people started off by simply choosing to do something, no matter how small it may have seemed, they saw an opportunity and chose to do it. You can choose to live great as well, by serving! Opportunities to serve are all around us, everyday.
In upcoming posts I’ll share several characteristics that are found in the heart of serving. Though they may seem small, they act as catalysts to God’s greatness activated in our lives.
The first characteristic I want to share is: the generous heart of a servant.
Generosity: the quality of being kind, understanding, and not selfish; a willingness to give.
As you read the definition of generosity, it is evident that generosity is a choice. The truth is, every single one of us can make the choice to be generous. Please understand that generosity is not a matter of budget, as much as it is a matter of the heart. We all have something to offer, we all have something we can give away. We can choose to be generous with our talents, our abilities, our love, our forgiveness; the list goes on and on.
The first step to living a life of generosity is to realize that what we have, all of our talents and resources, are not ours in the first place. They are God’s gift to us to be used to bless others. Doing this opens the door for God’s abundance to flow in your life. Proverbs 11 says it best:
“The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others will be helped.” Proverbs 11:24-26 (MSG)
What an incredible promise! God can take our ordinary generosity as we serve and bless others, to bring His extraordinary blessing into our lives! I truly believe that God’s heart is seen in generosity. After all, what was Jesus? John 3:16 says “for God so loved us that he GAVE His son”. Jesus was God’s generous gift to humanity!
I believe that God blesses a givers heart because He Himself is the greatest giver of all!
Opportunities to live great are all around you, don’t be afraid to start small! Find an opportunity to be generous and just do it!
Live extraordinarily!
Jared
