Next time you gather with your extended family around a dinner table, consider asking this question and seeing where it leads: If you were asked to perform a generous act tomorrow, what is the most generous thing you would do?
You are well aware of the differences that exist between you and the generations who are older and younger than you. So you will rightly expect a wide variety of opinions to fly around the dinner table.
But while opinions will vary among our parents and grandparents or children and grandchildren, for those striving to live the giving life, we will also find significant common ground.
The BARNA organization surveyed five generations—Elders, Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Zers—and learned that in each generation there was significant participation in specific acts of generosity.
According to the study, at least half of the respondents from all five generations donated money to charitable organizations, and at least 21 percent of respondents from all five generations volunteered their time to an organization.
Another trend emerged from this research: Respondents considered others of their own generation to be the most generous. However, each generation tended to be generous in the ways that they could—older generations reported that they were more likely to donate their money, and younger generations were more likely to donate their time.
So as you hear how each person around the dinner table might express their generosity, refrain from offering critical comments and instead affirm each person’s heart to give.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (1 Corinthians 9:7 NIV).
