Giving is not something that comes naturally to you. When you were a child, you wanted everything you put your hands on. Words such as, “Mine!” and “Let me have that!” were words you often said, without someone teaching them to you. You did not want to share.
As time progressed, you learned that sharing can be much more fun than possessing items for your own pleasure. Fighting the urge to keep for your own pleasure, you learned that sharing is a good thing. In discussing the act of giving, one unknown sage says this: “We make a living by what we get – we make a life by what we give.” You need to make a living to buy the necessities of life, and to spend your money on a few extras. That is necessary for yourself and for your family. But what really matters in life is what you give in life. It does not actually mean only money. As you give to make a life for yourself, it includes your time, your possessions, and your money.
The Holy Bible discusses your need to be a giver, instead of a taker. It reminds you of the great need to give to others in Acts 20:35, “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this matter that you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” This helping and giving is done to everyone, especially “the weak person.” In that way your giving will have the most effect.
Your ability to give may be learned in childhood, but you must work on doing so, as an adult. Throughout your whole life, your tendency is to get things for yourself and to hoard them. Remember Jesus’ words and learn to be a giver. You will have to fight the tendency to keep and not to share. A meaningful life is a life of one who gives!
