VII. Generosity
1 The term generosity has special meaning to the teacher of God. It is not the usual meaning of the word; in fact, it is a meaning that must be learned and learned very carefully. Like all the other attributes of God’s teachers this one rests ultimately on trust, for without trust no one can be generous in the true sense. To the world, generosity means “giving away” in the sense of “giving up.” To the teachers of God, it means giving away in order to keep. This has been emphasized throughout the text and the workbook, but it is perhaps more alien to the thinking of the world than many other ideas in our curriculum. Its greater strangeness lies merely in the obviousness of its reversal of the world’s thinking. In the clearest way possible, and at the simplest of levels, the word means the exact opposite to the teachers of God and to the world.
2 The teacher of God is generous out of Self interest. This does not refer, however, to the self of which the world speaks. The teacher of God does not want anything he cannot give away, because he realizes it would be valueless to him by definition. What would he want it for? He could only lose because of it. He could not gain. Therefore he does not seek what only he could keep, because that is a guarantee of loss. He does not want to suffer. Why should he ensure himself pain? But he does want to keep for himself all things that are of God, and therefore for His Son. These are the things that belong to him. These he can give away in true generosity, protecting them forever for himself.
The teacher of God does not want anything he cannot give away, because he realizes it would be valueless to him by definition.
Most of us have spent our entire lives seeking and protecting that which is ours alone. We take care of the body, save money, buy things, preserve special relationships. None of this has any value at all and the concern for it will bring us suffering. I’ve done it both ways, valuing the valueless and valuing only what is real. More and more, I experience the truth in what Jesus tells us here.
When I was striving to get the things the world said were of great value, I was always anxious. It was so ‘normal’ for me that I didn’t realize it was happening unless there was an overt threat to something I valued and then the anxiety became stronger. I didn’t realize I was living like that until I stopped. Now, sometimes I just laugh out loud to realize how peaceful it is in my mind.
It takes trust to stop striving for the valueless. We are so very certain that our happiness depends on having the symbols of safety that we find it hard to look away from them. My experience has been that once I let go of striving, everything I needed came to me, and what I didn’t need I didn’t miss. I’m deeply grateful for this new way to live.
In what ways do I generously give? I forgive. I am kind. I am patient. I am loving. Usually these are easy choices and the value is obvious. Sometimes it seems to go against all reason as the world sees it, and I have to ask for help to change my mind. Either way these are true gifts, of great value because they are of God, and as I give them, I gain them. My generosity is to Self.
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