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GIVE FOR LONGER THAN YOU WANT TO

We all have a limit to how long we can keep on giving. And some people seem to push that limit to breaking point!

Paul could identify with giving fatigue. In Acts 18, we read how Paul shook the dust from his clothes, ready to leave Corinth after being insulted once too many (v. 6). But God still had a job for him there. "'For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.' So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God" (Acts 18:10-11). That is a long time to go on after reaching your limit.

Giving for longer is what going the extra mile is about. In today's terms, we use the phrase when someone provides excellent service at an insurance call center or delivers our online purchases earlier than expected. But in Matthew 5, Jesus' teaching makes it very clear that an extra mile goes against everything we would want naturally. "If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles" (Matthew 5:40-41, NLT)

Do you know someone who is pushing your generosity too far?

Who in your life has asked you for a favor once too often? Go the extra mile this Christmas. Instead of waiting for that friend to pay back the money you lent them, give them a grocery voucher for Christmas. Instead of looking the other way when someone at the store starts speaking to you at random, give them ten minutes of kind conversation.

This is the year for gifts of inconvenience!