Dayenu

Have you ever been given more than you need, or more than you deserve? How did you respond to this generosity? Some of us may decline excess generosity because it makes us feel self-conscious or guilty for taking more than we need (even if it's freely offered). Others may accept gladly, or hesitantly.

What about receiving God's generosity?

When I was a teenager I auditioned for and won a scholarship to a week-long summer school with a prestigious music college in the States. I was on cloud nine for weeks as the day approached.

All four of my parents generously helped out with additional expenses, such as the flight, and soon I was packed and ready. I had saved what I could for spending money, but due to the costs of the trip I only had a little bit to spare. It was enough to get me through the week, but it certainly was not a large amount.

The day before I left, my step dad knocked on my bedroom door. Keep in mind that as a teenager in a blended family, I didn't always the best attitude toward parents or step-parents, and if I remember correctly, this was during a rocky period in our relationship.

I scowled my hello, but my step dad simply handed me a card with an abrupt, "Here. This is for you." Perplexed, I opened the card and found five crisp USD $20 bills, a sizeable sum of money for a teenager at the time. I looked up in complete shock, only to see tears in his eyes as he said, "I know we don't always get along, Nick, but I want you to know I'm really proud of you."

It was a totally unexpected moment and a very underserved gift, but it is one of my fondest memories from my teenage relationship with my step dad, because (in hindsight I realize) he gave me a glimpse of God's excessive generosity.

There is a beautiful Jewish tradition called dayenu, which is a gratitude song sung during Passover. Dayenu can be translated, "It would have been enough." In his book Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, Tyler Staton quotes another interpretation of the word: "Thank you, God, for overdoing it."

This is his example of a dayenu prayer:

"God, lunch today would've been enough, but you provided me with the resources to choose the type of food I wanted to eat and options to pick from."

"God, lunch of my choice would've been enough, but you created a world of flavor and spice and culture to make food more than fuel-to offer it as artistic and delicious."

"God, a delicious lunch of my choice would've been enough, but you gave me a coworker to share a conversation with over that food."

"Thank you, God, for overdoing it."

It's a small shift in the way we express gratitude, but one that helps us be content with less while also thanking God for his overflowing generosity. He loves to give excessively. Sometimes, however, we are so caught up in wanting more that we forget how little we actually need. The sad outcome of this is we lose sight of God's generosity and instead feel entitled to what he gives us.

If my teenage self knew what I did now, I would have said something like, "God, winning a scholarship anywhere would have been enough, but you helped me win a scholarship to Berklee."

"God, winning a scholarship to Berklee would have been enough, but you gave me a scholarship to their summer school in LA, and four parents to get me there."

"God, going to the Berklee School of Music summer school would have been enough, but you gave me excess money to spend while I'm there."

Thank you, God (and parents), for overdoing it. 

PAUSE and REFLECT: When we say yes to God's generosity, it brings him pleasure, because he loves giving his children good gifts. Where can you thank God for overdoing it in your life? Why not pick and area of your life and try a dayenu prayer right now? 

It's one thing to say thank you to God for the good in our life; it's another thing to recognize he's given us so much more than we need, and then thank him for all of it.

This is the best response to his generosity we can offer: "Thank you, God, for overdoing it."