It is More Blessed to Give than to Receive
Apostle Paul:
"You know I always worked to take care of my own needs and
the needs of those who were with me.
I showed you in all things that you should work as I did and help the weak.
I taught you to remember the words Jesus said:
'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
(Acts 20: 34, 35)
It has been a continuous search to find out the real joy and fulfilment in the act of giving. Giving is something that we are taught right from our childhood. It is important to teach the young ones right from their childhood the happiness of giving. And, as we grow up to be adults, this habit of giving becomes the best part of our lives when we realise that it is "more blessed to give than to receive."
Nearly a year ago, I had an inspirational conversation with a mother of a little girl, who was speaking with concern over her little daughter's growth. She expressed the earnest desire in her to see her daughter become a well-educated woman and to be in a high-earning profession in future. I asked why. For which she replied, "Because I want her to give!"
The passage that we have referred to for today's devotion is part of the farewell thoughts that the Apostle Paul shared with the elders from Ephesus. I encourage you to have a careful reading of these thoughts in Acts 20: 17 - 38. Almost at the end of this speech, Paul stresses the importance of giving. He quotes Christ Jesus at this moment and encourages the people listening to him to count the act of giving to be more blessed than to receive. Considering the four gospels that narrate the moments and words spoken by Jesus, we do not find these words being told by Jesus. But surely, one of the apostles or the disciples who had heard Jesus saying these words would have shared it with Paul, and we are thankful that the Holy Spirit brings us these words of the Lord through Paul.
I would like to draw three important lessons from the verse we had chosen to meditate on from this passage. I find, Paul, through his life of example, inspires us to abide by these three important values of the Christian life. Paul had Christ Jesus, and no one else, as his role model. He set his plans and paths, putting himself within the framework that Jesus had set before, and made sure that he does not do anything beyond or outside. We find Paul's independence with regard to worldly needs, his attitude of work and help, and his idea of what is a blessing!
Paul's independence with regard to worldly needs
I find it to be very challenging and thrilling to see the kind of independence Paul chose to enjoy with regard to his personal needs and the needs of those who were with him. He chose to take care of that. And his way of taking care of that was not to wait and find but to work hard to earn it. This attitude of hard-working towards any need that was before him is an example that we seldom find. Surely we know that Paul did not depend on his own strength. But with God's strength, he was able to work hard and to find ways of meeting his needs. Even though Paul's independence was from the people around him, he very much depended on God. And this is an important calling for us as people who chose to depend on God. Let not our attitude of hard work be reduced to any lower levels by depending on people around us. Let us learn to be independent of people, and to depend on God. The more we depend on God, the more independent we are of the people. And the more independent we are of the people, the more the attitude of hard work with God's strength. The danger in depending on people around for worldly needs is that we will begin to please people and slowly forget to please God. I find this same examples set by Jesus right at the beginning of his important growing age, where the gospel of Luke mentions "Jesus became wiser and grew physically. People liked him, and he pleased God" (Luke 02: 52).
Paul's attitude of work and help
We have an important lesson to learn from Paul's attitude to work. We find that his reason for hard work was always coupled with the help that he needs to do to the weak. His desire for working was not to accumulate wealth and to measure how much he could make by hard work but was aimed at how much he could help the weak. He not only had his daily needs in mind as he continued to work hard but also had the weak in his mind and the help he needs to do when he kept working. Helping others through his hard-earned money was not an addition to him. It was part of his agenda! Giving was not a surprise to him at the end of a day's hard labour, but it was already in his desire. It was part of the reason why he worked hard. This attitude of Paul teaches us an important element in the Christian life. We work hard and earn not only to meet our needs but also to help the weak. Let us make it part of our agenda. When we work hard, let the thoughts of our personal needs, the needs of our family, the needs of those around us and the needs of the weak be in our mind. We know this attitude of hard-work and help will lead us towards the blessing of giving more.
Paul's idea of what is a blessing
Remembering what Christ Jesus had said about 'blessing' and what it really means to be blessed, Paul, without wavering, stands strong in that idea. He had understood that 'to be blessed' means not only to be able to receive more and more but also to be able to give. That's what blessing meant to him. That's what his crystal-clear idea about 'to be blessed' meant to him. 'To be blessed' means 'to be able to give.' And when someone says 'I am blessed', we understand that it also carries an additional unspoken phrase that accompanies the first one - 'I am able to give.' Apart from this idea of giving, we should also see that it is important in our Christian life that we cultivate this idea that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Even when we receive something as a gift from someone, let us keep the 'giving-chain' continuing. Even from what we have received, let us learn to give a part of that to someone who could be deserving it. That is when Christ Jesus' real blessing is felt in our lives. Surely we would feel more blessed when we are able to give than to keep receiving and filling our shelves. Let us seek God's blessings in giving than in receiving.
I pray that the blessings of God our Father, the grace and love of Christ Jesus the Son and the fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit will lead all of us towards a life of fulfilment that is earned through depending on God and not the world, have 'help' as part of our 'hard work' and to follow the clear example shown by Christ and the example that was followed by Paul, which is inspirational.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"Make me a Blessing..."
