Quotes about Generosity

The less we have, the more we give. Seems absurd, but it's the logic of love.

You can only give away what you have ... If you have love, you can give it. If you don't have it, you don't have it to give.

Yes!" the carpenter exclaimed. "When you love, you serve, and when you serve, you sacrifice. Service requires a sacrifice of something. Whether it's time, energy, money, love, effort, or focus, serving others always costs you something, but with service and sacrifice, you gain so much more.

And those who have well received and entertained them shall be gloriously rewarded: Matt. x. 40, 41, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

Our exceptionalness is not for us but for others. That is the paradox at the heart of who we are. So what makes us different has nothing to do with jingoism and nationalistic chest beating. If we have ever been great, it is only because we have been good. If we have ever been great, it is only because we have longed to help make others great too. That earnest humility and generosity must be attended to.

The Scriptures were plain and could not be gainsaid on this most basic point: all that was his—his wealth, his talents, his time—was not really his. It all belonged to God and had been given to him to use for God's purposes and according to God's will. God had blessed him so that he, in turn, might bless others, especially those less fortunate than himself.

The term "noblesse oblige"—the idea that those who have been blessed with much are to use it to help those who have not been so blessed—would not be coined for another half-century, and Wilberforce had yet to discover the relevance of any such idea to his own life.

We must be able to speak about our faith so that hands will be stretched out toward us faster than we can fill them.

Strange that the most generous men and religious, do not see that their duties increase with their fortune, and that they will be punished for spending it" on themselves in eating and drinking.

Paula Bonhoeffer's faith was most evident in the values that she and her husband taught their children. Exhibiting selflessness, expressing generosity, and helping others were central to the family culture.

Unless we are hopelessly bound by cynicism, we have to acknowledge that the United States has been remarkably and consistently generous in sharing what it has, whether material things or ideas.

I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it sis my duty ... This is my highest and best use as a human.