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Practical tips and inspiring thoughts for living a life of abundance and spirit-filled generosity.
Giving of your resources is a profound act that can change your life and the lives of those around you. With gentleness and wisdom, this practical guide outlines the ways in which cultivating a lifestyle of generosity can be a source of personal transformation, spiritual renewal and deep joy. You will learn about:
- Giving as Worship—how the major faith traditions offer reverence through giving
- Giving as Stewardship—managing resources for maximum benefit
- Giving as Charity—providing for others out of a sense of compassion
- Giving as Justice—creating righteous equality in our world
It is hard to make individual philanthropy, a sacrificial virtue mandated by the major world religions, sound enticing, inspirational and even occasionally pleasurable—but this book often succeeds in doing just that. "Generosity can give you joy," asserts Wright, a researcher on faith and family at Indiana University. In this refreshingly candid volume on the transformative power of sharing one's material, emotional and spiritual wealth, the author ponders the theological, psychological and social significance of giving. It is many things, she says: worship, stewardship, discipline and an act of redemption, charity and justice. Less a scholarly tome than a practical treatise, Wright’s book offers multiple resources, including worksheets, exercises, quotations from some of the world’s faith traditions and a bibliography. Readers of all faiths, or none, will find many useful suggestions for incorporating giving into their lives. The writer’s willingness to share specific examples of change from her own life is both helpful and provocative, underlining her assertion that giving offers the potential to change not only the individual but ultimately the world. (Sept).
Introduction: Giving as a Sacred Art? ix
1 Giving as Worship: Responding to God's Generosity with Joyful Gratitude 1
2 Giving as Stewardship: Managing Our Abundance 21
3 Giving as Holy Obligation: Transforming Identity through Discipline 57
4 Giving as Redemption: Restoring Money as Life-Giving Legal Tender 77
5 Giving as Charity: Providing for the Needy with Compassion 95
6 Giving as Justice: Believing in and Working toward Righteous Equality 113
Appendices 131
Appendix A—How Much Money Do I Receive Each Year? 132
Appendix B—How Much Money Do I Spend Each Year? 133
Appendix C—What's Left? Debt or Extra-abundance? 138
Appendix D—Creating a Budget 139
Notes 141
Glossary 149
Suggestions for Further Reading 153
Resources 159
Acknowledgments 168