Everybody in America understands the importance of giving. But what we often miss is the idea of generosity. Giving and being generous are two very different things.
There is a cycle most Americans live with when it comes to money, and it can be defined by two words: worry, and discontent. Living as a consumer, living
with the assumption that it’s all for your consumption, leads to worry and discontent. No matter how new and shiny it is today, there’s a newer and shinier one tomorrow. You break out of this cycle not by making more money; the only way to break the cycle, for most of us, is to re-order and re-prioritize our finances around generosity rather than consumption.
Generosity requires a plan. The only problem is, most Americans have a bad plan. If you’re like most Americans, and believe it’s all for your consumption, here is your plan: Consume it, save if I can, give what’s left over. But here’s what generous people do: generous people give it before they consume it. 
The key to generosity isn’t just giving more; the key to generosity is re-ordering or re-prioritizing your finances so that what was last goes first! You give it first, you save second, and then you live on the rest.
When you order your life around generosity, it affects everything. Through our “I Love My Church” emphasis in November, I want you to learn how to live a generous life, so you will understand what Jesus meant when he said, “Happy is the person whose life is ordered around giving, rather than receiving.” You will be happier, and it will trickle down into every other area of your life — when you are generous.
