Maximum Generosity

Maximum Generosity

Give as freely as you have received! Matthew 10:8

The father of a young man called me while I was still coaching the Colts. His son’s fiancée had died in an accident, and he was concerned that his son was slipping into depression. I talked with the young man several times over the next few weeks, assuring him that things would get better and that ending his life wasn’t the answer. I wanted him to know how the people who loved him would feel if he took his own life. As someone who had lost a son, I understood how real his pain was.

Eventually, I could tell he was beginning to pull out of his depression. Finally, after a number of conversations spanning several weeks, the scheduled date of his wedding passed, and he began to find an occasional ray of sunlight. He assured me he would be all right. Then he asked, “So what do you do?” I told him I was a coach. “Oh, cool,” he said. “High school or college?” He had no idea who I was. He only knew I was a man who had lost a son and who cared enough to call him.

My name recognition and what I did for a living didn’t matter to this young man. What mattered was that I cared and had some experiences that enabled me to relate to him. And that’s the point: we have multiple platforms from which we can impact people. Whatever we have gone through gives us a point of contact with others who are going through similar circumstances. We may think we need expertise in a particular area or a well-known name, but we really only need a little experience and a lot of compassion. We may think we should wait until we have more free time, more money, or a better reputation, but all that’s necessary is that we see a need and want to meet it. Influencing the lives of others isn’t a job for us to do “someday.” It’s a possibility right now.

Go ahead and begin investing your life in others now. You have opportunities, and you have the means. Whatever God has poured into your life is something you can pour into others’ lives. You have received from Him freely; freely give to whoever needs your encouragement, your advice, and your love.

Uncommon Key > People don’t care who you are. They need you to care who they are. When you do that, you have enough of a platform to influence lives.