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b'At its heart, stealing is based in one question: \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153What if God is holding out on me?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d This fear can make us stop trusting God to provide for us. And God provides for us in two main ways: work and generosity.\\nIt\\u2019s easy to forget that work is a good thing. Often, doing things like chores, homework, or going to a job feel more like misery than joy. But the truth is, God designed work to be a good thing\\u2014He made us to tend to creation, reigning over it and stewarding it on His behalf. He designed us to be creative like He is creative. And this creative work has a reward: we get food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities from doing work, as well as a sense of purpose and fulfillment from knowing we are doing what God has created us to do.\\nAnother way we can get these necessities is through generosity. God designed us to live in community, and His Holy Spirit works in us to create generosity toward each other. When we recognize how generous God has been with us, we are free to be generous with those around us. We can trust in the abundance God provides, so, when we see a person with an unmet need, we are empowered to give generously to that person. And, likewise, when we are in a time of need, we can lean on our community to carry us through it, trusting that God\\u2019s generosity flows through His people.\\nBut because sin has entered the world, sometimes we start to believe the lie God won\\u2019t provide what we need. Sin warps our minds, making us think God is stingy instead of generous, so we need to take matters into our own hands.\\nJesus puts those fears to rest. We serve a God who sent His Son to become human, take our sin upon Himself, die on the cross in our place, resurrect from the dead to secure our resurrection, and someday return to permanently unite His people to Himself and restore creation to perfect abundance. That is a generous God. \\u2022 Taylor Eising\\n\\u2022 What are some ways you have seen God\\u2019s generosity at work? \\n\\u2022 How does trusting in God\\u2019s generosity free you to be more generous? \\n\\u2022 What kind of work do you enjoy? \\nLook at the birds. They don\\u2019t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren\\u2019t you far more valuable to him than they are? Matthew 6:26 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nExodus 20:14; Matthew 5:27-30; Ephesians 5:21-33'