Here's another one of those devotionals that I first mentioned in my previous post. Be blessed.
The Joy of Givingby Mary SoutherlandToday’s Truth2 Corinthians 9:7
(NCV): "Each one should give as you have decided in your heart to give.
You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because
you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily."
Friend to FriendOne
of my favorite authors, Richard Foster, writes, "Giving with glad and
generous hearts has a way of routing out the tough old miser within us.
Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the very act of
letting go of money, or some other treasure, does something within us.
It destroys the demon greed." God loves to see us give for no other
reason than the joy of giving.
The true story is told of a
self-made millionaire who had lived in New York City his entire life.
Born and raised in a ghetto, he worked hard and achieved much. Anyone
who knew this man would testify to the fact that he was generous--to a
fault, some would say. One year, the man was disturbed by an attitude of
selfishness and greed that seemed to pervade the Christmas holiday
season and everyone around him. Not one to condemn, the millionaire
decided that since he had been given so much, it was up to him to do his
part in combating greed and came up with an unusual plan. Wearing a
disguise, this man stuffed his pockets with $100 dollar bills and set
out for a walk on the streets of New York City. When he saw someone in
need, he whipped out one of the bills, pressed it into that person's
hands and with a "Merry Christmas," made his way down the street. "It
was the most wonderful part of my holiday season," the man reported, and
he has been doing it every since.
God is much more interested
in our motive for giving than in the gift itself. If that motive is
tainted with greed, the gift simply does not count. A powerful way to
guard against greed is to choose joy over greed. Giving with joy is
Kingdom giving! Before you give, ask yourself, "What’s in it for me?"
If the answer is "nothing," then go ahead and give the gift.
When
our children were in middle school, we owned what I affectionately
called a "Mini-Gym." It was a set of bar bells, a weight lifting bench
and a few free weights. Both Jered and Danna loved their "gym" and used
it almost every day. When Christmas rolled around, we learned that two
of their good friends, Jeff and Jeremy, were not going to have much of a
Christmas because their dad had lost his job. Jered came up with a
plan. "Mom," he said, "Danna and I have talked about it. We think that
Jeff and Jeremy would love to have the gym. But we don’t want them to
know we gave it to them, because they might be embarrassed. What do you
think?" I thought I was in the presence of two joyful givers and quickly
joined them in their plan.
A few days before Christmas, Jered
and I took the gym apart and loaded it in our car while Danna found a
huge red bow. Together, we made a sign that read, "Merry Christmas! We
love you!" Danna blew up balloons while Jered dug out some Christmas
lights. We enlisted the help of a neighbor who had a key to our friend’s
house and joined in the fun by agreeing to find out when the coast was
clear, unlocking the back door and letting us in. At the designated
time, off we went, laughing and singing Christmas carols. We parked down
the street until the neighbor called, giggling, to let us know she was
all set. Once we were inside, we raced to assemble the gym, post the
sign, tie the balloons and tape the lights to the front door, leading
our friends to their Christmas surprise on the back porch. We then
high-tailed it home as if the FBI was hot on our trail! The neighbor
reported that just minutes after the boys returned, she heard shouting
and "whooping and hollering." The joy of that Christmas still lingers
today. Greed doesn’t hold a candle to joyful giving!
Greed is
never satisfied and never at rest. There is always something more to be
gained and someone else to outdo. Take sheep, for example. Sheep are
dumb enough to eat until they are sick. They simply do not know when to
stop. A heart that is filled with greed behaves the same way. I am
afraid our heart motives are all too frequently self-serving when it
comes to giving. Our pride is at stake, so we give to impress others.
Perhaps, we give out of fear and guilt, hoping to buy God's forgiveness
from our sin. People are watching, so we give in order to gain their
approval. What is the solution? Giving! Giving is a powerfully effective
deterrent to greed when we give for no other reason than the joy of
giving.
Proverbs 11:24-25:
"Some people give much but get back even more. Others don’t give what
they should and end up poor. Whoever gives to others will get richer;
those who help others will themselves be helped."
I once
read an article that described three types of givers. The first kind of
giver is the "flint." To get anything out of a flint, you have to hammer
it, and even then, you only get chips and sparks. A second kind of
giver is the "sponge." You have to squeeze it and the more pressure you
use, the more you will get. The third kind of giver is the honeycomb. It
just overflows. What kind of giver are you? Experience the joy of
Christmas when you experience the joy of giving. Merry Christmas!
Let's PrayFather,
thank
You for all You have given me. Help me to be the kind of giver that
points people to You. I choose against my pride or any wrong motive
for giving Christmas gifts this year. I
choose to keep my eyes on You and my glance on the world. I love you! In Jesus' name, amen.
Now It's Your TurnWe
make a living by what we get out of life, but we make a life by what we
give and how we give it. Beecher wrote, "No man can tell whether he is
rich or poor by turning to his ledger. The heart makes a man rich. He
is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has."
How do these words relate to your life this Christmas?
Take
inventory of your "stuff." Make an actual list. Then set aside a time of
prayer and solitude during which you give each one to God.
Consider giving an anonymous gift and recruit your family to help.
