A Sure Way to Be Blessed
“….remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20: 35
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us how to be blessed; here, He tells us how to be more blessed! True, because when a person gives there are two people blessed, the giver and the receiver. The principle blessing belongs to the giver.
Basically I have not used the names of those I grew up with, but I am going to expose this one, the late “T. Tommy ” Cutrer, long time iconic voice of the Grand Ole Opry. His start was as a part time announcer at a radio station in a nearby town. Driving around in his car he would make a fist of his hand, and speak into it pretending to be an announcer saying, “This is how you do it.” From him I learned about inflection, pronunciation, dialect, tone, pitch, and projection.
His biggest impact on me came from a simple incident. Walking along together one day he found a nickel. I was probably 12 years old, and to me a nickel was a lot of money. It was before allowances and I had never had a nickel. I was so impressed I said, “I wish I could find a nickel.” He said, “Here, you can have this one,” “Really?”
To this day I still sensitively remember the thrill of that exchange. Remembering it I unconsciously like to replicate it to some degree every time I give. As a result I love to give. There is a two fold reason. One is that experience with Tommy, and the other is the wisdom of Jesus, it really is more blessed to give than to receive.
As an unconscious sidebar, if you want people to remember you and feel warmly give them something.
I have an anonymous friend who has used this principle as a precursor to raising millions for an institution. He has done it by giving bags of a personally blended coffee. He has used it as a means of establishing and maintaining a good relationship with potential donors. Every sip of coffee is a reminder of that giver and the institution. The return has been far greater than the initial gift.
The giving being more blessed means we don’t have to wait on the action of someone to make us feel fulfilled. Being fulfilled is found in giving. Giving often is not giving something, but more importantly in the giving of self. That is costless, priceless. Giving is the language of love. It has no other speech. “God so loved that He gave!” Love finds its very life in giving itself away. It is said one can give without loving, but one can’t love without giving.
We should “not (give) grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7b). The word “cheerful” comes from the Greek word “hilaros”. It describes the spirit of enjoyment in giving; willingly, cheerfully, without any restraint. Such an attitude of giving is thereby loved by God.
Now go out there and do what God did and does cheerfully, give yourself away, be someone’s “nickel.”