How do you respond in times of need, want, desire, and desperation? We need. We desire. We take. Because we are self-focused people, we can be driven to be more concerned with ourselves than others. This includes how we see and interact with the material world. We functionally believe the very existence of the world, society, those around you exist for you to be made much of. So hourly and daily we talk in our heads about how any situation is making us feel, how to act in ways that will lead to our own self benefit. We’ve got to watch out for #1 and that’s always us. This happens both in times of great need and times of great abundance. This is us having an orientation towards our selves at the expense of how our actions affect other people. When we are needy or greedy, we close our hands on what we have out of fear we will not have enough. When we have much, we think most about how we will because we assume all that we have, have been given, or possess is our alone rather than from God. Our desires are usually very immediate, temporary, and selfish so we too often desire immediate comfort over long term correction. Part of our challenge is we believe and act as if we will find the most enjoyment and fullness from consuming over contributing. To have our hands opened to give, share, and be generous in ways which cost us requires courage. Generosity, in all its forms is an act of faith and courage relying not on what we possess but who we behold and how we understand the blessings we have received and the responsibility we have been given. This courage is birthed from being reorientated to see what we have been given and how we give.