The Laws of Generosity and Meanness in Life

Today's "Living Abundantly" discusses how one can live well. Observing those who live well, you will discern a pattern: there are two types of people, the generous and the mean-spirited. Those who can take a loss and shoulder responsibility are generous; those who cannot take a loss and shirk responsibility are mean-spirited. Few misers live well, but wanting to be generous does not mean acting recklessly. One must discern when to be generous and when not to be.

Mean-Spirited People Do Not Live Well

When I was in university, everyone lived in dormitory buildings with many people. Some dormitories had excellent and harmonious interpersonal relationships; others were fraught with tension. Beijing winters are very cold, below zero degrees Celsius. There was no hot water; one had to carry a thermos to fetch water, a five-minute walk. After fetching it, it was left there, and after self-study, it was brought back for washing. Some people only carried one for themselves, some carried two for those they were close to, and some carried four. The students who carried only one often found their water gone, and their classmates liked to mess with them. This is a mean-spirited person. As the saying goes, "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree." Mean-spirited people do not live well! Being easily angered is also a form of meanness; getting upset over trivial matters.

Among us are people of different ages. Meanness is a disadvantage, so do not be mean-spirited. But if you insist on suffering losses, then so be it. Everyone has their own standards for judging things; the benevolent see benevolence, and the wise see wisdom. Generous people are prone to taking losses, but they look at the long term, while mean-spirited people focus on immediate gains.

A management university in Singapore has students who often spontaneously organize research projects. Some misers fuss about, and no one wants them. Some people are not very capable but are willing to contribute money and effort, so everyone likes to include them in their work. Relationships between people have value. I do not like taking advantage of others; I value interpersonal relationships, which have greatly helped me. Money and relationships are incomparable. Regardless of age, one must learn to discern. It is not that those people are suffering losses, but that their "calculations" are different. Therefore, I encourage everyone to discern. That miser from our school days will certainly not live well past fifty.

Generosity or Meanness is Influenced by Regionality

Some regions have different cultures and value systems. Some time ago, I ministered to a brother whose people were very stingy. This brother said that your people are very generous and forthright, which I readily acknowledged.

Some time ago, I ministered to another person who stayed with me for a long time. She was a very stingy person, and her good friend had lent her hundreds of thousands of dollars that she had not repaid. She even took a course on charity and said she wanted to do charity! I said, "Repay the money first before doing charity." Then her response was interesting: "Is it that I cannot afford to repay it?" Her good friend said, "Then repay me." This person said, "Do you lack this money?" Whether mean or generous, do not ruin your brand. Each of us is a brand, building good and stable relationships with others. I once spoke about "stability," like an aircraft that must have stability. People are not only stingy with money but also with face and relationships.

Later, I received an older sister, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, who earned a high monthly salary, but was very poor at such an old age. I paid for her food, drink, and accommodation. You will find that meanness is the root of poverty. A person's character determines their problems, and the older one gets, the harder it is to change.

It is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive

The Choice Between Dedication and Blessing

Through this observation, we find that mean-spirited people do not live well. We can see this in relationships. If you are not stingy with money but are stingy in other matters, if people regard you as a miser, your interpersonal relationships will suffer, and no one will want to associate with you.
The Christian faith is a faith of dedication. God gave His only begotten Son to us. It is more blessed to give than to receive! Those who give are more blessed than those who receive!
Someone said they wanted to give a testimony, and all I heard was what they received and what blessings they had. We talk about testimonies of service. The church is a group of people who willingly offer themselves to God; it is a path of dedication. This is called Mingding Doctrine! The Bible says to cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

Choose to Be a Generous Person

Start adjusting in all aspects to become a generous person, a dedicated person. But do not constantly treat people to meals; that is not good. Instead, build generous relationships. Learn to be shrewd; it does not matter if you take a small loss. In the Bible, Isaac dug a well, and it was taken away. He dug another well, and it was taken away again. Isaac said, "Bless you with a well." Isaac was a person who willingly dedicated himself, and he had a hundredfold harvest in that place. So today, do we want to give or to receive? This is our choice!

In marketing, do you understand the needs of others or your own needs? If you understand the needs of others, you will surely receive a lot from them. My team is really great; they are all willing to offer themselves to God and are never petty. Sometimes, when everyone rents a house together and needs essential supplies, everyone pools their money to buy and use them together. This greatly improves efficiency, rather than everyone buying and using their own.

From now on, constantly examine yourself in all aspects, no longer according to your own logic but according to the logic in the Bible. Jacob's wages were constantly changed by his uncle, but what does it matter? I encourage everyone to be full of understanding in their minds, knowing what is worthwhile and what is not, and to deal with the bad habits on their bodies one by one, becoming a dedicated person, a giving person. May God bless everyone!

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