What's Special About Giving?

Most of us are still wrapping presents. Many have a list and are stressed about some things on it. We all have a gift or two waiting to go to someone we are excited about. It’s really fun to give. And it’s a lot more fun than getting.Not that receiving isn’t any fun. It is. But there is something really special about giving. What? Why does giving make us feel so good? Why would there be joy in letting go of something that either, we'd rather keep, or that cost us precious time to earn the money to purchase? Why would that make us feel good?

• Giving beats down selfishness. Selfishness, which is at the root of sin, never made anyone happy. It’s a temptation that tends to take over all of us at times. But when it does, we are not happy. There is something about giving that beats our old selfish nature down, and brings out who we were meant to be; creatures created in the image of God, who defines himself as love (1 John 4:8).
• Giving breaks the power of greed. Like selfishness, we all tend towards greed. And the greed that is in us is never satisfied. When we get more, we want more. When we see more, we want more. When others have more, we want more. Greed is the curse of “more.” It destroys gratitude, and in doing so, extinguishes happiness. There is only one thing that breaks the power of greed. That is the act of giving. Whether you feel like giving or not, the very act of letting go and giving, breaks the power of greed.
• Giving restores gratitude. And we know that gratitude is at the heart of our happiness. Grateful people are happy people and ungrateful people are not. There is something about giving away what we have that creates a sense of thankfulness, and that makes us happy.
• Giving connects us with the recipient. When we give to others, it creates a bond to the person we are giving to. It produces a sense of community. And since even the most introverted among us were created for community, that gives us joy.

So enjoy this time of giving. Appreciate the joy of those who are giving to you, and encourage that blessing for them. Take joy in blessing others. But let’s not stop on Christmas Day or the family gatherings afterward. Let’s make this a life habit, a characteristic of who we are. Let this season of giving influence 2019. And may we be a people who take joy in generosity throughout the months and years ahead."It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ––Jesus (Acts 20:35)