Hospitality as Generosity

Still others might not realize there’s a connection between the two, hospitality and generosity. Many believe hospitality only involves entertaining with formal invitations, crystal and china in a spotlessly clean home, something rarely done these days.

The dictionary defines hospitality as “the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers. The quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” No argument there, but God’s Word takes it a step further.

Guidara defines “unreasonable hospitality” as dedication to providing guests with a fantastic experience that stretches the limits of what seems sensible, providing people with a unique, tailor-made service that makes them feel like VIPs, exceeding expectations.

• Showing love in ways each guest will recognize and feel
• Fostering selflessness
• Providing refuge, a safe space
• Deepening fellowship, to know and be known
• Filling you and your guest with joy, as God wired us to experience

Hospitality is best delivered with a balance of creativity and spontaneity. It sounds paradoxical, but it isn't. You plan ahead, looking for opportunities to be spontaneous, ways you can show unreasonable hospitality and generosity. Your heart is “always open”. Indeed, your whole world is “open” to the possibility of serving others.

The greatest barriers to hospitality are ingratitude and the perceived lack of time and money. Pray for a spirit of gratitude for what God has given you. As you experience it, you’ll naturally want to share more with others. You’ll find margin in your time and money to do it.

You can turn these concepts into reality. Think about one gift that you have that you would be excited to share with others in an act of unreasonable hospitality and generosity. Decide what you can do this week to share that gift with someone else. We all have gifts that we can share with others– the Bible tells us that, too.