#freelygive

Royal Giving

While running at the gym this morning, I saw an advertisement for beer. It's tag-line was:

“Give freely. The world will treat you like royalty.”

Come again?!?!?!

And we wonder why so many people, young and old, feel entitled?!

But this is the prevailing attitude in our culture, our jobs, our families and our churches.

I was taught to give and expect nothing back because that is after all, Biblical. This meant each week I dropped 10% of my allowance (15 cents) into the offering plate at church. And in 1989, $1.50 a week was a big allowance! Actually I still think it's a big allowance. Kids getting $5 a week in allowance while doing virtually nothing and allowed to buy anything = having the attitude that the world is yours for the taking. And should you decide to give, you get even more of that world.

This then filters out into our churches and other ministry settings unfortunately. We tithe so we expect songs, sermons and the service all to be to our liking. We support a child in deepest Africa so that child better write us regular letters and draw cute pictures so we can show our friends how great we are for Pete's sake!

And even though we might not say these things out loud, doesn't mean we don't believe them just a little bit if we are honest.

I can truly say that giving freely, with no strings attached, is one of the most freeing and rich things God allows me to do. I don't say this to get a pat on the back or a kudos to me on a job well done. I have stumbled and bumbled in the area of giving with the best of them, whether that be money, my time, or my help.

If you give because you’ve received, then when you stop receiving, you stop giving, and that’s how most relationships work.

If you give freely to everyone you meet, some will reciprocate and this is how you make friends, by giving more to those who give in response to your giving.

This is an active approach to friendship and should be maintained for a productive lifestyle, if they don’t reciprocate, focus on those who do and the cycle of giving will grow more and more.