Giving Something

I came across a Bible verse that struck a chord with me: Luke 6:28 (NLT) – “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you give back.”

Many of us have heard the expression, “It’s better to give than to receive.” While we may often quickly agree with the nice sentiments of this expression, it can be hard to find ourselves giving freely. When we give, it’s easy to do so with the intention of being seen as a generous person, or secretly hoping to get something in return from the person you gave to.

However, in a somewhat counter-intuitive manner, the Bible verse and familiar expression quoted above are telling us that there is more to be gained from giving than initially may meet the eye. Through giving, we will be rewarded in some form – perhaps in a different form than what we may expect. Giving allows us to receive; perhaps through happiness, contentment, friendship, or simply through seeing the smile from those who needed and received our help.

Giving doesn’t always mean giving money. Sometimes money isn’t the most needed thing, although many people may think that money can make up for lack of attention, quality time, and care. However, the best things in life are free, but require attention and time - rare commodities to find these days.

Especially children and the elderly, they don’t care about money as much as the average working adult. They value attention and care more than money. We may easily forget about quality attention and giving our time to someone when money, prestige, and looking good can easily become higher priorities. Most people forget that we are still searching for a form of happiness through those pursuits. We can mistakenly think that our quality of that happiness can increase with more money and reputation.

However, we usually end up sacrificing our health, family time, sleep, eating habits, and exercise time in order to “get ahead.” That’s just silliness taking on the look of productivity. Real productivity includes a balance of keeping yourself healthy, responsible, and being present to friends and family. Just being busy doesn’t mean that you are doing the right thing.

Being present in the moment is a gift unto itself. Don’t make the mistake of making this moment, right now, the meantime. Right now is where you are supposed to be. Take the time to be fully present to whom you are talking with. Take the time to listen to your body and get enough sleep and eat properly. We can’t get used to feeling unhealthy as a “normal” state of being. Often getting out of balance is a gradual process and we don’t notice it’s happening until it’s really chaotic.

We don’t need to be rich in order to give, just willing to give your time, be patient and present to the present moment~

For further related reading, please check out: Having a Routine.