Soul fitness: 'exercise generosity more often'

This week a strange incident occurred in the city of Durban: 'A woman was shot twice in her legs during an altercation with another man over a parking space.' It may sound absurd, but there are some deep lessons we can learn from this crazy incident: 'Two days ago, around 1.45 pm, a woman drives into a shopping center parking. By the time she finds a parking spot, another male driver is also eyeing the same spot. Both drivers realize that only one of them can occupy the parking space but none of them attempts to retreat. As a result, the two drivers argue and debate over who should take the space. In a moment of anger, the woman draws a firearm with the intent to chase away the male driver but... (I think she did not expect what would follow), the male driver also has a firearm and shoots the woman twice in her legs. The woman was taken to the hospital while the male driver was arrested for attempted murder and all of this...for a parking space in use temporarily.' While I was listening to a local radio station, a few listeners called in the studio to express their opinions on the incident. Certain listeners thought that the incident was caused by 'self-importance', 'self-indulgence', 'bad temper'.... Those listeners were, too a certain extent, quite relevant. But the incident between those people was caused by one thing: 'lack of generosity'. You see, when we watch TV or listen to radio, we are often presented with lifestyle programs offering great advice on how to maintain our physical shape or health. Those programs teach us to exercise, eat well, remain fit...but few programs teach us to maintain 'soul fitness'. In comparison with physical exercises, when someone exercises his/her body well on a regular basis,the same person will be able to overcome certain life surprising situations such as: 'having workplace lifts not working for a week'. When it comes to 'soul fitness', it matters that we exercise our hearts in being generous with our time, life, possession... Generosity teaches us that we can live without the things we give away. Generosity detaches us from the love of material things. Generosity makes us fit for daily life situations. A genuinely generous person will not be fighting for petty things he/she can live without. But the ones who are too attached to their material possessions, tend to cause quarrels most of the time. A generous person is ready to walk away from pursuing vain material things, while a selfish person would do anything (including risking their lives) to keep their little pennies or meaningless possession. Tithing, helping the poor, giving our time, serving others, showing generosity teach us that we can live without the the things we give away. The attachment we manifest towards our possession, will become the 'very trap' or 'door' the devil will use to oppress our lives. Have you ever fought to keep something but the more you fought for it, the more troubles accrued in your life? The more generous we are, the fitter we become. Everyday the world is filled with needs. Find people to help with your resources. And as you do so, you increase your soul fitness. As you become generous, it will be difficult for you to create a scene over a restaurant table, a piece of meat, a few dollars, etc... Think of this: 'if you exercise physically on a daily basis, the day your car will break down, you will be ready to walk. Because you exercised previously. It is the same thing with generosity. One day, the enemy will set you up in a situation where the way forward will consist in giving up your possessions. Only a thorough exercise of generosity will get you spiritually fit for this event. But the love for material possession will prove to be damaging on that day. For your own personal meditation, please read Matthew 19:16-26. It is the story of a young man who finds himself in front of Jesus and an opportunity to move forward in eternal and purposeful life BUT he gets stuck through his love for riches. It is a great read. Find a need. Be generous.