Daily Devotional, August 8, 2023
Motherhood and Generosity
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:38
“Isusubo na ngalang, ibibigay pa sa anak,” is a Filipino saying which depicts a mother willingly giving the food that she is about to eat to her child who is asking for it. A universal truth about motherhood, where generosity is deemed as a default trait of every parent. And why not? Mothers continue endlessly give, and most of us can attest to this based on our own experience with our moms.
The bible is clear in encouraging everyone to be generous. In St. Paul’s First Letter to Timothy, he said “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”(1 Timothy 6:18-19). Now we moms say these to our children all the time. We tell them that they should be willing to share to their friends, and especially to the poor. But as grown ups, are we really doing this? Do we really share what we have?
I love this definition of generosity that I heard from our parish priest, and it goes like this (although not verbatim): “Generosity is not measured in the amount that you give, but in how much you leave for yourself.” In reality, giving “extras” is much easier compared to sharing what we have when we are also running low on provisions. But that is what counts the most in the eyes of God.
In the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus appreciated the widow who offered her two coins, saying that her sacrifice encompassess those who may have given much more than what she offered. “Truly I tell you,” He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:3-4).
As Christian mothers may we be good stewards of God’s blessings by freely giving not just to our family, but also to the poor and to those in need.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to read 2 Corinthians 9:5-7 and Luke 21:3-4 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Are you modeling proportional and sacrificial generosity to your children? When was the last time you have freely given to those in need?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, we praise and thank you for your generosity to us. May we reflect this lovingkindness not just to our family, but moreso to the poor and needy. Amen.
