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 bear responsibility are generous; those who cannot take a loss or bear 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 tense. Beijing winters are very cold, below freezing, and there was no hot water. We had to carry thermoses to fetch water, a five-minute walk. After fetching it, we would leave it and bring it back after self-study for washing up. Some people only carried one for themselves, some carried two, including one for a close friend, and some carried four. The students who carried only one often found their water gone, and their classmates liked to tease 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 various ages. Meanness is a disadvantage, so do not be mean-spirited. But if you continue to suffer losses, that is your choice. Everyone has their own standards for judging things; the benevolent see benevolence, and the wise see wisdom. Generous people tend to suffer losses, but they look at the long term, while mean-spirited people look at immediate gains.

A management university in Singapore has students who often spontaneously organize research projects. Some misers fuss around, but 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 projects. 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 suffer losses, but 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 Region

Some regions have different cultures and value systems. Some time ago, I ministered to a brother whose people were very mean-spirited. This brother said that the people in my area were very generous and forthright, which I readily acknowledged.

Recently, I ministered to someone who stayed with me for a long time and was very mean-spirited. Her good friend was very generous, and this person owed her friend hundreds of thousands of dollars that she had not repaid. She even took a course on charity and said, "I want to do charity!" I said, "Repay the money you owe people before doing charity." Then her response was interesting: "Do you think I cannot afford to repay it?" Her good friend said, "Then repay me." This person said, "Do you lack this money?" Whether one is mean-spirited 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 airplane needing stability. People are not only mean with money but also with face and relationships.

Later, I received an elderly sister who was a well-known traditional Chinese medicine practitioner with a high monthly salary, but she was very poor despite her 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, people will consider you a miser, and your interpersonal relationships will suffer; 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, "I want to give a testimony," and all I heard was what I received and what blessings I had. We talk about testimonies of service. The church is a group of people who willingly offer themselves to God, 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 dedicating person. But do not always treat people to meals; that is not good. Instead, build generous relationships. Learn to be shrewd; it is okay to take a loss. In the Bible, Isaac dug a well, and people took it away. He dug another well, and they took it away again. Isaac said, "Bless you with a well." Isaac was a person who willingly dedicated himself and had a hundredfold harvest in that place. So today, do we want to give or receive? This is our choice!

In marketing, do you understand others' needs or your own? If you understand others' needs, you will surely receive a lot from them. My team is truly wonderful; they are all willing to offer themselves to God and are never petty. Sometimes, when we rent a house together and need daily necessities, we pool our money to buy and use them together, which 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 uncle constantly changed his wages, but what does it matter? I encourage everyone to be full of understanding and know what is worthwhile and what is not, to deal with the bad habits on your body one by one, and to become a dedicating person, a giving person. May God bless everyone!

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