Giving and Receiving

[To the Ephesian elders Paul said,] “Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

- Acts 20:31-38

What do Jesus’ words mean to you: “It is more blessed to give than to receive”?

Think about where you give in your life and where you receive. Is it really more blessed to you to give rather than to receive?

During my first Christmas season at St. John the Divine, I received a Christmas card in the mail early in December with a large check in it. One of my fellow clergy said this couple always gives the clergy a generous gift at Christmas. I’ll admit to being really excited and really in need of it, having recently been ordained and adjusting to a clergy budget rather than that of an architect.

However, each day I came home after opening that card, I would go through the mail, quickly opening newly arrived cards, looking for checks and not even reading the messages or noting who sent them. God convicted me. That check had become an idol. I focused on money and not on the kindness of my new friends and fellow Christians. Repentance and forgiveness brought me back around.

For me, it is more blessed to give than to receive because it helps me keep my perspective about who and what I love outside of my selfish self. Jesus gave away everything—love, power, healing, his mother, his life. As he walked around Israel, he taught his disciples to do likewise, always warning about the power money can have over a person. If I truly want to be his disciple, I must know the blessing of giving and the lure of receiving.

Prayer

O Lord, give us more charity, more self-denial, more likeness to thee. Teach us to sacrifice our comforts to others, and our likings for the sake of doing good. Make us kindly in thought, gentle in word, generous in deed. Teach us that it is better to give than to receive; better to forget ourselves than to put ourselves forward; better to minister than to be ministered unto. And unto thee, the God of love, be glory and praise for ever. Amen.

- Henry Alford, 1810-1871