Thrive Thought: A Year of Gratitude and Generosity

THRIVE THOUGHT
A Year of Gratitude and Generosity

“The good things we experience and possess in this life are gifts from God. Our gratitude towards God should be public and explicit and should result in generosity that appears radical from the world’s perspective. Rather than seeing charity as a good work we perform out of our earned and merited success, we ought to think of every good thing we have as a gift from God that He has given us stewardship over in the expectation that we will in turn offer to others as a gift.” [1]

In the new year, Pathway is offering Financial Peace University beginning January 25. It is truly a life-changing program that offers tools to eliminate debt, build savings, and attain financial freedom. If you haven’t engaged in this course, I would encourage you to do so. But for what end?

While learning to steward money well can merit success, God doesn’t call us to be financially successful. He calls us to faithfulness. How might efforts towards faithfulness lead to a year of gratitude and generosity that ultimately glorifies God (and not ourselves)?

Resource: [1] Noble, A. (2021). You are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press.

Erica Smith lives with her husband, J.R., and children Jeremiah and Eva in Fort Wayne, IN. She has spent her career in the financial services industry and is actively involved with Pathway Community Church’s Thrive Ministry.