# A New Vision Of Money - 17: Give yourself the luxury of being generous Do you consider yourself generous? The Course describes generosity as one of the attributes of God’s teachers. The Manual for Teachers defines it this way: > The term “generosity” has special meaning to a teacher of God. It is not the > usual meaning of the word; in fact, it is a meaning that must be learned, and > learned very carefully. Like all the other attributes of God’s teachers, this > one rests ultimately on trust, for without trust no one can be generous in the > true sense. To the world, generosity means “giving away” in the sense of > “giving up.” To the teacher of God, it means giving away in order to keep. ([CE M-4.VII.1:1-5](https://acimce.app/:M-4.VII.1:1-5))  As is typical of the Course, the word generosity is defined as the opposite of how it is understood in the world, without losing the essence of its original meaning. Jesus gives this characteristic crucial importance. He tells us that every teacher who is teaching His Course must be a generous person. It is important not only to Jesus, but also to the teacher himself: > The teacher of God does not want anything he cannot give away, because he > realizes it would be valueless to him by definition. ([CE M-4.VII.2:3](https://acimce.app/:M-4.VII.2:3)) Imagine being able to walk through the world being generous in all your interactions, minute by minute. How would you feel? If your answer is “exhausted,” don’t feel guilty. It’s the most common response among people I know. We think that other people have the ability to drain us and that our generosity is a gift that ends up weakening us. If you’ve ever heard yourself say “I’m tired of people taking advantage of me,” you know exactly what I mean. That is the view of generosity most of us carry. We tend to think of generosity as a “zero-sum” matter: your gain is my loss. I must give up something valuable to me so that you can have it. Can you see the idea of sacrifice embedded in this thought? This is why our usual understanding of generosity must be replaced by the one the Course offers. Generosity, as the Course defines it, is “giving to keep.” In other words, generosity cannot involve any loss; when you give, you receive. This is one of the most frequently repeated ideas in the Course. In fact, Lesson 154 says that the Course has repeated this idea a hundred times in a hundred different ways. Surely an idea repeated so many times and explained from so many angles must be central to the thought system we are trying to learn. Imagine being able to say from your heart: “I want nothing I cannot give away, because I want nothing that has no real value in my life. Why would I want it? It could only bring me pain.” We have explored enough to see that the things of the world cannot bring you happiness. From this perspective, it becomes natural to see that wanting to keep something that will bring you pain and more emptiness is a bad idea. Our normal view is to want to possess things and enjoy them. Instead of that view, imagine that your understanding could shift so that something becomes valuable only because you can give it away. You may be wondering whether the generosity the Course speaks about includes physical things. If that question is still in your mind, then there is still work to do in adopting the Course’s definition of generosity. What we must give generously are the things of God—love and forgiveness. However, love in this world is empty unless it is expressed. The love we give must be wrapped in something of this world so that the one who receives it can understand it and appreciate it. That includes your time, your energy, your material possessions, and also your money. The belief in sacrifice makes this idea seem unfair. Do I really have to settle for receiving only “nice feelings” while giving away material things? It sounds as if I will end up with nothing. However, Lesson 187 emphasizes that you do not only gain internally—what we give returns to us at the level of form as well: > Having had and given, then the world asserts that you have lost what you > possessed. The truth maintains that giving will increase what you possess. > > How is this possible? For it is sure that if you give a finite thing away, > your body’s eyes will not perceive it yours. Yet we have learned that things > but represent the thoughts which make them. And we do not lack for proof that > when we give ideas away, we strengthen them in our own minds. Perhaps the form > in which the thought seems to appear is changed in giving. Yet it must return > to him who gives. Nor can the form it takes be less acceptable. It must be > more. > > Ideas must first belong to you before you give them. If you are to save the > world, you first accept salvation for yourself. But you will not believe that > this is done until you see the miracles it brings to everyone you look upon. > Herein is the idea of giving clarified and given meaning. Now you can perceive > that by your giving is your store increased. > > Protect all things you value by the act of giving them away, and you are sure > that you will never lose them. What you thought you did not have is thereby > proven yours. Yet value not its form. For this will change and grow > unrecognizable in time, however much you try to keep it safe. No form endures. > To value form is but to worship death. It is the thought behind the form of > things that lives unchangeable. ([CE W-187.1-4](https://acimce.app/:W-187.1-4)) This all boils down to one thing: you can afford to be generous. If everything in this world is an idea and ideas are strengthened by being given, then when you give something, it must return to you. You will not necessarily receive the same form you gave, but “it must be more.” The form it takes cannot be less acceptable. The clever ones may think this is a formula for acquiring money. *If I am generous, the universe will reward me with abundance!* However, the Course warns us: “Do not ascribe value to its form.” In other words, using this information with the goal of obtaining and enriching yourself is completely contrary to the goal being sought. And what generosity can there be if you are thinking only of your own benefit? ## Practice ### In the morning This morning we will place the day in God’s hands. Let Him decide what we need to give in order to keep, as well as what we must let go. 1. Close your eyes and quiet your mind using any of the techniques you have learned in this workshop. 2. Now imagine the day ahead of you. Think of yourself as someone who can afford to be generous. Think of each interaction you may have today. 3. For each person who comes to mind, imagine that God has a gift and that you are giving it to them. Also imagine their reaction of joy or relief. 4. Allow images of things to arise—things you are attached to and that keep you from moving toward peace. 5. Imagine giving each of those things to God as you say: “I will place nothing between us.” 6. Devote the last few minutes to simply being in silence and in peace. ### During the day Use your phone’s timer to remind yourself every 20 minutes that today you seek to prove the law of love. Ask the Holy Spirit: > "What miracles have You given me to bless the world with today?" Wait in silence for a moment to hear His response. Also watch your mind to identify thoughts of scarcity. If you find yourself thinking selfishly, say inwardly: > "I only want for myself what I can truly keep. Today I will be generous with > my forgiveness."