Absurd Generosity

in Picasso House Paris 
by Richard von Mensvoort

I don't think I am generous enough. In fact, I don't think most of us are generous enough.

This week, I visited Hilton Head Island. Last year, I also visited Hilton Head Island, and it was then that I first met (at least in memory, since I was a baby the real first time) Mrs. Cookie. To paint the picture for you, Mrs. Cookie is very stylish, very confident, very cool, and very interesting. She attended horse races for over forty years. She resells diamonds for fun. She worked at an airline for twenty years and likely has a million other stories to tell. Mrs. Cookie is about the coolest older woman you will ever meet. 

Above all, however, Mrs. Cookie is extraordinarily, absurdly, ridiculously generous. Again, I must remind you that, really, I do not know her very well, despite how much she might know about me from her friendship with my dad. Still, she confidently hosted my family of eight in her home for multiple meals, cooking breakfast for all of us (an insane amount of groceries), inviting us to use her paddleboards and beach chairs, and providing drinks for everyone. She gave away clothes and jewelry to all my many siblings and me. She gifted me a graduation present and card, and, completely undeserving, I left this week's beach trip with far more treasure than I anticipated. 

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." - Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire

It's not just the family of her husband's friend that Mrs. Cookie is generous with. She spent years taking care of a granddaughter with disabilities. She spent years working for a charity store whose funds were intended to make the world a better place. She gives away to charities and donates her time and talent, she loves her family, friends, and neighbors, and I genuinely believe that she would give away far more than is reasonable if it meant she could make a perfect stranger's life better by doing so. 

Her generosity is an extreme that I do not believe can be found in very many other places. Seeing such absurd generosity really emphasizes to me the selfishness that is all around. Reflecting on it now, I am stingy with so much. I hoard my time, even when I am not putting it to good use. I am reluctant to give away money, even when it will otherwise only sit in a savings account. I often neglect to assist my siblings because it would be too much drama, or I'm too irritated to get involved. 

Don't get me wrong. I spent over 200 hours of this past school year serving other people. I love volunteering at my church or dance studio. I love doing kind things for others, giving when I don't have to, and buying gifts for others. But while I give plenty, I do not give anywhere near as much as I have the potential to. Really, I don't think anyone does. 

"Then Jesus said to His Disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the Kingdom of Heaven."" - Matthew 19:23

All of us choose not to help or give, even at times when we know we could do otherwise. All of us choose ourselves over others, simply because we cannot bear to be inconvenienced. All of us neglect, deny, and ignore, with some excuse or another that doesn't really satisfy. 

What would happen if we changed that? What would the world be like if everyone gave not what they were comfortable with, but all that they could? What would happen if we all practiced absurd generosity, if we all gave to the extreme? 

I think the world would be a better place. Giving makes us feel genuinely good. It makes not just us happy, but others, too. Giving is mutually beneficial to everyone involved. And giving always comes back. There is something wonderful that happens when we give, in which others are inspired to do the same. Gratitude is contagious, and so is selflessness. When we give, it multiplies, and thus there really is no risk to us. There is no risk of giving too much, of giving beyond our means, of giving to the point of exhaustion or bankruptcy. Because, even if we exhaust our worldly resources, we are assured that someone else's generosity, perhaps even inspired by our own, will carry us onward. Even if no other human on the face of the planet is inspired to give back, and we are truly the only ones, we can rest assured that the Lord will provide for all of our needs. 

"For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." - Matthew 12:44

This does not mean that we should squander our funds. Christians in particular are called to give abundantly, but they are also called to have wisdom. We should not just throw a pile of cash into the sky and hope it lands in the right hands. We should not avoid paying our taxes because we'd rather donate the money to charity. We should budget. We should not make flippant purchases that will end up in the garbage next week. We should be wise with our money and make an intentional habit of giving much of it away. 

We can give far more than we do. We should give far more than we do. And that giving comes in many forms: money, property, time, talent, kindness, help, and advice. Our giving is a non-negotiable, and it is easier than many think. Let us stop being Scrooges, even Scrooges who are mostly Cookies. Let our generosity be absurd, and watch what will happen in turn.