Irrational—not logical or reasonable

Have you ever considered the idea of living with irrational generosity?  When it doesn’t make sense?  When the numbers just don’t seem to add up?  Some people might call it living on the edge.

Do you remember the story of the five loaves and the two fish?  It started with a kid.  He had those five loaves and two fish.  They were his.  It probably meant dinner for his family.  And in that day and age, you just don’t go throwing good food away.  It meant something.

But then the call came.  Does anyone have anything to eat—to feed five thousand people (actually it was probably something like 20,000 people counting women and children).   I mean sure, who goes around carrying food for 20,000 people.

I’m not sure how word reached the boy.  But it did.  I’m not sure what he thought.  But I know this.  It didn’t make sense.  It didn’t make sense to make the gift.  Those five loaves and two fish mattered to him.  They weren’t excess.  And even worse, it was a gift that didn’t seem to make a difference.  How could five loaves and two fish feed 20,000 people.  It was irrational.

But that’s when God seems to step in and work—when it doesn’t make sense, when the numbers don’t add up.  Indeed, sometimes we are called to make a gift even when the gift doesn’t seem to make a difference.

I’m still learning, but it sure seems to me that God wants me to live that way—a bit irrational.  Because when I do, it gives him room to work.  How have you lived irrationally?

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published September 6, 2016

Topics: Generosity

Generosity