9.28.23 - Matthew 5:42
Where can you imagine practicing the choice of generosity? What's the first step for you to reclaim your autonomy to make the choices for generosity?
Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
In an era where self-care is at the front of every conversation, this verse seems out of touch.
In a church that is built by volunteers (mostly women) this can feel downright abusive.
It's passages like these that built the framework for worker exploitation at the beginning of the industrial revolution.
And, it's messages like this that remind us to live with generosity. Generosity implies a choice, a response rather than the reaction of an "eye for an eye."
Rather than "forced to be" we get a "choice to be." This is what we get so wrong in American Christianity, we believe it is our role to force others, usually marginalized folx, to be something and not hold ourselves to the same standard.
Choosing to be generous allows us to retain power and autonomy, making the spirit of these words come alive.
Where can you imagine practicing the choice of generosity? What's the first step for you to reclaim your autonomy to make the choices for generosity?
--Jason Whitehead