Not Giving As Giving

We are all generous to greater or lesser degrees. And we are all generous in different realms. We’ve learned to be openhearted in some areas but not in others. It’s good to take stock of just where and when we are and aren’t generous. Once we’ve become conscious of our habits, we have more freedom to change them, if we desire.
People who have trouble saying no take on too much and end up bitter and burned out. This kind of giving is not giving at all. It is a compulsion that usually comes from a lack for self-worth. They are so afraid of the disapproval of the other person making the request that they must say yes. As a result, they have never experienced generosity, which comes from an overflow of a sense of caring, not compulsion.
Contemporary Reading
Radical Generosity by M.J. Ryan

Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.”
Scripture Reading
Mark 1:30-38 (NRSV)