Give Cheerfully: It Heals Your “Eye”…(Strive For Five #5)
February 1, 2026
Give Cheerfully: It Heals Your “Eye”…(Strive For Five #5) | Dr. Larry Baucom, Dr. Troy Doucet | Feb 1, 2026
In the final week of Strive for Five, Dr. Troy Doucet and Dr. Larry Baucom invite Suncoast into a deeper understanding of generosity, not as charity, but as transformation. Rather than a transactional act meant to make the giver feel good, Christ-like generosity is presented as a habit that reshapes the soul, flowing from the grace we have freely received from God. Jesus wasn’t forming religious consumers, but conduits; people through whom God’s grace moves into the world.
Drawing from Matthew 6, the teaching reframes generosity as a rhythm of trust rather than a one-time response to emotion or need. The focus is not on how much is given, but on how the practice of giving forms us spiritually. Generosity, like awareness, reflection, forgiveness, and humility, is a choice—and one that gradually moves us from anxiety and control toward peace and trust in God.
The message unfolds through four practices in the Cycle of Generosity:
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Give Secretly: It removes the need for human approval – Secret generosity removes the need for human approval and re-centers giving as an act of love, obedience, and trust before God alone. When applause is removed, generosity becomes about internal alignment rather than external recognition.
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Give Directionally: It relocates your “treasures” (heart) toward God’s priorities – Jesus teaches that where our treasure goes, our heart follows. Generosity is not a thermometer measuring spiritual passion, but a thermostat that sets it. By intentionally investing in God’s priorities, our hearts are slowly reoriented toward what truly matters.
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Give Cheerfully: It heals your “eye” so you see a world of light & abundance – A generous life heals our vision. Jesus links generosity to how we see the world—moving us from scarcity and fear to abundance and trust. Cheerful giving trains our eyes to notice God’s faithfulness and light already at work around us.
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Give Confidently: It proves that God is THE source– not just a RE-source – Generosity becomes a practical way to learn trust. Worry often reveals that we see ourselves as the source and God as merely a resource. Giving in ways that require trust teaches us, over time, that God is reliable and faithful.
The teaching closes with a bold invitation: audacious generosity, not driven by guilt or pressure, but by grace and trust. As Dr. Baucom’s closing story challenges the congregation, generosity is framed not as something we did once, but as something we dare to live again and again. Suncoast is called to be a community shaped by generosity, believing that God will use what we give—seen and unseen—to change both us and the world.