If You Ain’t Givin’, You Ain’t Livin’
When is the last time you gave of yourself? Either money, lent a hand, or used your expertise to help a neighbor or an organization? in my heart I believe this is the foundation of what it means to be higher animals. As a Christ follower struggling to do as instructed, I thought I was a good person who helped his fellow man, but when faced with the test of giving, I would be running late to some meeting or to work, so I used that as an excuse not to give someone holding a cardboard sign a dollar bill. Sure, we tell ourselves, “…don’t do that. all they’re going to do with it is buy drugs or booze.” Yep, possibly. They may also buy a sandwich or a bottle of water. There again, I have to rewind my thoughts. I’m passing judgement before doing what Christ commands. I have put conditions on my giving and afterward if I saw that person and if they hadn’t lived up to my conditional giving I would say, “That’s it! Never again. I won’t get burned like that anymore!” That wasn’t the point. The point was, to give, to help out.
The truth is, we all stuggle and fall short in some facet of our existence. We won’t be perfect but we have to keep on trying. Other than money we can give so many other things. Giving clothes that you don’t use anymore, non-perishable food items to the local food bank, pushing someone’s car out of traffice that stalled out, even a few books to the free reader’s book box. It feels good to give, really good. I do not know one person that feels otherwise. Especially without making it conditional. Doing so also takes the pressure off. You gave, got the warm fuzzies and that’s it!
I played a church service for an upstart congregation recently. They had 22 people that morning. They were so appreciative to have someone playing an instrument and leading the singing. I got a bigger blessing than they did! I had a dear friend once tell me, “I have never lost one thing by giving something away.” That makes me think of this in Proverbs - One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
