“It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
This verse is very familiar and is, at times, an admonition to be mindful of whether we are of a giving or benevolent nature. There is no shortage of companion verses we could cite that bolster this idea. It should also be noted that since we know that we are created in the image of God, it is fitting for us as His children to have a giving nature, seeing that our heavenly Father does.
Over the years, it has been a pleasure to witness the overwhelming desire people have to be a part of the giving we have been called to do. Someone has had a health issue or surgery that has them laid up for days or even weeks. The response in the form of prepared meals is often remarkable. Of course, the idea behind the meals is to help the one who is healing to have one less thing to be concerned about. Sometimes the giving is in the form of a card or a phone call, so they know that they are on the hearts and in the prayers of many.
My wife and I, during a certain Christmas holiday years ago, were hurting financially and struggling to plan on doing any gift-giving for our children. I understand that this aspect of “need” is not the end of the world, but was meaningful to us nonetheless. One day after one of the assembly times with the church, I went out to my car and there was an envelope on my windshield. Inside the envelope was more than enough cash to remedy that struggle. To this day I do not know who did this. One thing I know for sure—they were blessed by God!
I have had opportunities to do the same thing. There are times when you reach out and bless someone in need; sometimes they know it was you and sometimes they don’t, but either way, I have come to know intimately the blessing of giving. I heard someone say years ago, “Only God could come up with an idea where the giver receives more than the receiver.”
To this point, it would seem that this article is not much more than a reminisce of our own personal “Hallmark” moments. I don’t mean to minimize these very important gestures, but there is an aspect here that I fear many of us aren’t very good at. We are stellar givers, but we struggle to be the receivers.
In Genesis 33, we read about Jacob and Esau. Jacob is returning to his place of origin where Esau lives. He is fearful that Esau is still bearing a heavy grudge against him. He plans to give Esau a generous gift. Their reunion ends up being a very touching and emotional one. Jacob presents his gift of livestock to Esau, but in Genesis 33:8-9, Esau assures Jacob that he has plenty and is in no need of his gift. Jacob counters with his plea in verses 10-11 that since God was so gracious to Jacob, he wants to show the same spirit of graciousness to Esau—whether he has a need or not. So, who was blessed in all of this? The answer is “Yes.”
It may be difficult to consider that we would learn a good example from Esau, but I submit to you that he did the right thing in accepting the gift. We need to give this very careful consideration.
The example was mentioned earlier about those who are homebound or bedfast due to some ailment, subsequently, the prepared meals begin to arrive. Or someone offers to come and spruce up your kitchen or cut your grass or run a vacuum in your living room. At the risk of oversimplifying what the response should be, let them! What if you don’t need another casserole? Freeze it. What if your kitchen is clean? Let them clean it anyway. You get the idea. I also understand there may be extenuating circumstances that the help being offered may not be as helpful as the one offering intended it to be. Graciously declining the help but expressing genuine appreciation may be necessary.
There are many ways for us to give to each other. However, sometimes we give by being the receiver. We know the joy of giving. Now go and give that same joy to someone who desires to give to you.
jack@rockymountainchristian.com
