The Journey of a Generous Business Leader: Part I

As a rebellious young adult, I attended Easter service out of respect to my mother. As the offering plate came closer, I realized I didn’t want to appear cheap, so I reached for my wallet.

When I realized I only had a $10 bill, I dropped the ten in the plate and palmed a $5 bill in return. I was a “Poser.” I wanted to appear generous while being cheap.

In Matthew 23:28, Jesus said about the Pharisees, “On the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

Many generous business leaders become generous in phases. The first phase for me, and many others, is being a Poser. In this series, I will unpack different phases of the generosity journey.

Questions For Reflection

• What do you think of when you hear the word generosity? What are other ways, excluding money, that you can be generous? What commodities of yours could you be generous with?
• Who in your life is especially kind? Do they also happen to be generous? Can a person truly be kind if they are not also generous?
• What is honesty? Is it solely tied to what you say and then do, or can it be action led? What do honest actions look like? What would honesty look like in your business?