I was shopping for clothes this past weekend when a sweet lady just came up to me randomly and gave me some coupons. I did not know her and was just looking through some dresses for my size and she kindly asked me if I had any coupons for the store I was in. I said no and she said, well here you go! She was not going to use the coupons before they expired so she gave them to me. That was so nice of her. I ended up getting a really good deal. I felt grateful and thankful for God’s favor and the kindness of a stranger.

One of my friends was shopping with me that day and as we were leaving the store I still had extra coupons from the lady that I was not able to use. My friend said, “Hey, you should give those coupons to someone else so they can use them too.” She was so right and I am so glad she said something. So we looked around the store and chose someone else to give it to. J

This quickly reminded me of the principles of giving in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 9:6,10-11 says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. You will be made rich in every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”  

My friend really had the right idea. I had not thought about passing on the coupons but she did. She was thinking about keeping the gift going. I really believe that this is how God wants us to give. He is a God that gives in abundance. There are times that He blesses us with so much “fruit”, so to speak, that we have more of it than we know what to do with. When we are blessed with much we must give that excess away to further bless others and keep the blessing going and flowing. This brings glory to God. The problem with fruit is that when you let it sit for too long it gets bad. Don’t hold on to excess “fruit” when it was meant to be given away.