When Giving, Consider ‘Future Value’ Not ‘Present Cost’

A Generous Life:
10 Steps To Living A Life Money Can’t Buy

Author: David Green, with Bill High

Publisher: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2019

Generosity is one of those human characteristics that we often attribute to others and seldom speak of it in reference to our own way of life. That may be because few of us are generous; or it may be because we really cannot describe what being generous means or have any way of measuring it. In his book, A Generous Life, David Green as a minimum (and with every right to do so) implies he has and is living such a life, but more importantly, he gives us great insight into how one may describe generosity and perhaps even measure it.

Green says we really need to start off our lives asking the questions we normally save for our deathbeds.  Those are the ones that matter.  Secondly, we need to realize that while we are the keepers or holders of things or assets, they ultimately do not belong to us. If we recognize the proper Owner, generosity becomes much easier. Because Green accepts there is an afterlife, he proposes we put people before profit and the mundane things of life.

Those are the prerequisites. He then proceeds to suggest a process by which we may pursue a generous life. And it starts with counting our blessings – but not the ones that can be lost. (That takes a little more thought than the usual approach.) The next step is to determine what he calls a “destination” in our “generosity journey”. He’s not talking about a geographic destination but rather a goal that we want to achieve with respect to our giving.  Like any trip worth taking, a plan needs to be developed which we will require following to reach our destination.

But Green also wants us to get the message that we’ll not fully enjoy the destination unless we bring our loved ones along – as his parents did with him and his siblings, and as he has endeavored to do with his own children, and even grandchildren.

Legacy creation is a key topic of the book. Green helps us to create one for our own family and he reminds us that a complete legacy is not only about what one leaves behind, but also what one sends ahead.

The author writes most candidly. He humbly realizes that he has been greatly blessed. He knows many readers would discount his advice for that reason. But as I read his book, I believe he attributes that blessing to three things: a parental model of generosity; a realization that God is the owner of everything; and a disciplined following of an intentional plan to be generous.

The book makes a great gift for any of our businessperson contacts.  It is also perfect for our children and grandchildren.  But first you and I need to make sure that we’ve bought into what Green recommends and start applying it ourselves, if we haven’t already.

n  Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, October 10, 2019, www.accordconsulting.com

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