Better to Give - "TG 9" |
Oct 31, 2009 |
Did you ever wonder about those statements your parents would make when trying to change your behavior as a kid? Like when you were making a face at one of your siblings and they would say, “If you keep doing that your face will freeze that way.” Or when you have asked too many questions and you were told that, “curiosity killed the cat” so quit asking. And there was the phrase I never liked when I was young. You may have even heard this yourself, the one that your parents would say just before you were going to get your reward for your bad behavior, “this is going to hurt me more than it does you.” Oh really mom, are you sure about that?
Then as I grew up in church, and my parents were teaching me about tithing and giving to God, I was told this one, “it is better to give than to receive.” It was something I didn’t understand at the time when I was getting my first allowance and then my first job. A tithe, let alone offerings, seemed like so much. The concept of giving something away from what I had earned and worked so hard for was really tough to grasp.
But as I learned to tithe, and give offerings, I found this to not only to be a concept but reality. The motivation to give was never forced on me because of guilt, but out my desire to follow God and to be in obedience to what He desired for my life. My focus needed to be on Him and not on me. After all who was the source of my provision?
When I focus on God I find that in my giving I have joy. The joy I have received has never been measured by the amount I have given, but from living a life that is totally reliant upon Him. Allowing God to use me as a conduit to pass His blessings to others is a wonderful experience. As I give, not only am I blessed, but others are impacted and blessed as well…..from this I can say that “it is better to give than to receive.”
If you aren’t convinced by the “I said so” approach, and want to know more about what giving can do for you (and more importantly others). I would suggest a book from our Mission Increase Foundation recommended reading list written by Randy Alcorn. The book titled “The Treasure Principle” is about th e joy of giving and provides many illustrations and scripture references that will help you discover for yourself that it is better to give than to receive.
