Generous

We’ve crossed the line.  We’re past the halfway mark of Fall40 (Fall40 is a 40 day season of prayer and fasting for spiritual renewal we embrace each fall at The Journey).

 

This week our focus has been fasting media.  For me, that’s meant no Facebook.

 

No Twitter.

 

No TV.

 

No weather.com.

 

I feel richer in my spirit.  Quieter.

 

The sense of urgency that so often fills my life until it oozes through my pores, tainting work, relationships, and play – is lessened when I do this.  My life takes on a sense of vibrancy and purpose.

 

When I’m not monitoring how everyone is doing electronically, checking the news, or keeping tabs on my favorite TV characters, I can listen more closely to the voice of God.

 

This week, I’m thinking about about generosity.  And there’s nothing to distract me from it – because I’m fasting media.

 

I’m thinking about how simple God’s principles of generosity are: give, and you’ll find happiness… horde, and you’ll cultivate misery.  They are undeniable, irrevocable laws of God’s universe.  We embrace them to our delight; we deny them to our dismay.

 

I think too much media makes us selfish, you and me; reinforces the deadly delusion that life is all about us.  The news scares us into stinginess; commercials tempt us to live beyond our means, reducing our ability – and passion – to give; the status updates of others renew our sinful desperation to keep up.

 

But I'm fasting all that.  So I'm open.  Ready to be generous.

 

How about you?

 

A generous man will prosper;

he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25 – NIV).

Comments

[Greg Glover]

Mark,

Great Post! In our high speed generation, it is harder to fast technology than it is food. At least it seems to benefit me more. Nothing like clearing out the buzz to hear His voice.

[Mark Johnston]

Hey Greg! Thanks for the note. I agree wholeheartedly. Technology is a blessing and a curse... and often it is both at precisely the same time.