The Act of Giving
-What is Giving?
What do you consider to be your definition of giving? Do you think of how someone can offer you something and you receiving it? Or do you think about how selfless some people can be by handing away the things they have?
Giving is one thing that can be done without the need being reciprocated. To give simply means to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation.
There is one specific type of giving that I would like to focus on since Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow and we will have many things to be thankful for in our homes and with our families. The giving that I want to discuss is giving to the poor.
-Giving to the Poor
Every now and then you tend to see someone in need who can be holding a sign up or just happens to be disheveled on the side of the road or near a building with their remains fairly close to them. In that moment, what is your initial action? Do you continue to walk/drive/ move? Do you begin to feel compassion for them? Do you think of what you could do to help them? All these things may be running in your mind at this instance because of what just took place in front of you.
When we see someone who is poor or who is very much in need we should always do our best to offer something to them. Now I know that there are times where some people you have offered help to are unappreciative of what you have done but the fact alone that you were able to give is the greatest deed of all.
Proverbs 19:17 says, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.” When you give to the poor, God blesses you mightily. He sees what you have done for another and repays it to you, not necessarily in monetary means but by what He has in store for your life. This simply means that blessings will be upon you because you have given.
-How Giving Makes You a Better Person
When you give you are doing it not because you have to, but because you want to. Giving comes from the heart. It’s what brings joy to you knowing that you were able to help and aid someone. You don’t expect anything in return from them but just knowing that you were able to do such a good deed for another.
People tend to feel that when they give, there is warmth and happiness inside of them. That they realize they have done something good and are proud of themselves for doing it. They feel more compassion towards others because of how generous they were whilst they gave. All these feelings of compassion, sympathy, joy, and happiness are emotions that bring up people with better attitudes. When you are thankful for what you have you would be happier to give to those in need. Just as last week I mentioned gratitude is of the blessed, when you give you are blessing others.
-What’s in Store For Those Who Give?
When you give God blesses you in ways that you never imagine. All of your heart’s desires and prayers are answered by God with time. This is not to say that when you give, you will immediately be blessed with whatever you were yearning for. NO! God works in His time and His time is always right!
God always repays those who do the good work and those who fight the good fight. What you do now to your neighbors, strangers, and those you love is how God in turn will bless you. He doesn’t only bless you with what you have given in monetary funds at church for tithes but He blesses you with so much more.
When you give, God takes what you have given to Him or to others and replaces it with the blessings He has prepared for you. Whenever I think of this, I always think about one scenario. Let’s say you were given a book. You read the book and realized it was filled with so much knowledge and can see that not everyone had access to this book. Because you felt sad and bad for them you decided to share what you have already gained from the book. Just as you share what you have gained from a book, another person will share what they have gained from another book. This is exactly how God works. When you do good, give unto Him and give to help the poor, God gives back to you in abundance. He see what you are doing and knows what and where He wishes to take you in life. God will then start to place you on the right track and open the doors to the opportunities you thought you may never receive.
This is a give and take situation. What you give to God and His people is what you will take from God when He blesses you. Not only that, but you better yourself because you have done something that can be paid forward to another. Because you offered something to another, God will place the right people in the right places for you to receive something from them. This is the cycle of giving. Because you do good, others too, will do good to you.
Allow this to be what you think about as we come to celebrate this coming Thanksgiving Day. What can you give to another? How can you pay it forward in this week? What good deeds do you wish to do on Thanksgiving? How can you help the less fortunate? What could you do for a neighbor? What can you do for your community?
As you think of these things reflect on this bible verse:
Deuteronomy 15:10
“Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.”
God will surely bless you, Amen!