It was a certain Jesus of Nazareth who said, “it is more blessed to give than receive”. Notice that he didn’t say that receiving is bad or wrong or unimportant. He was simply saying that it was less ‘blessed’ than that of giving.
In fact, I am convinced that we need to be focussed on both giving and receiving well.
What do I mean by this?
Sometimes people are only able to give well. They see it as their role to give to others. They have much and see themselves now as givers rather than receivers. This is clearly noble. Living a life of generosity towards others is a key to living a meaningful life.
At the other end of the scale are those who spend their lives taking. They are convinced that they never have enough and therefore are only focussed on receiving. Don’t think that this position is only held by the poor. Both the poor and the rich are as susceptible to greed.
Now, clearly, living a life of generosity is better than living a life of greed. It IS more ‘blessed’ to be a giver rather than a taker. We will be far healthier as people if our lives are orientated towards generosity and helping others.
That said, receiving well is an act of humility. And, though we may not need what we are being given, receiving it well can make such a difference to someone else’s life.
I have had several trips to Africa over the years. On several occasions I have been invited to enjoy a meal with people who, frankly, by Western standards are living in significant poverty. These wonderful people sacrificed huge amounts to put together a feast for me. Not only that, they then went out of their way to give me gifts.
Honestly, I didn’t need these gifts. I haven’t worn some of the beutiful African outfits I have been given. But I treasure them. I treasure the memories of the people who gave them to me. And I treasure the joy it brought to those people who were so committed to being generous with what they had, even though it was so little.
Let’s be people whose lives are defined by generosity and humility.
Thanks for being a regular visitor to Awaken. If you haven't already subscribed, you can stay up-to-date by email, RSS, or Twitter
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I think there’s something missing from the last sentence.
Thanks! Changed “let’s me people” to “let’s BE people”. Ahh. Typo’s!
This is an interesting issue, it made me think about how much of a day-to-day problem it is for a lot of people with self-esteem issues. Without stepping into a full-blown conversation about codependency, I think it’s important to be able to recognize when you are in a relationship that does not have a balance of giving and receiving. Many of us didn’t learn to receive, and find ourselves in a position of giving and giving to try to feel good about ourselves and it’s never quite enough.
It seems like many people don’t realize that the act of receiving helps us achieve a degree of balance that is hard to find in other ways. I speak from the place of women who give too much, to their children, their partners and their jobs. I’m challenging myself to retrain the people who ask too much of me everyday and retrain myself to humbly receive. I have to ask for what I need!
My plan is to make the request clearly and with a smile on my face. No guilt trips if they defer, but I’ll attempt a second request if they didn’t understand. I’ll let them do the task in their own way and show my sincere gratitude when it’s done. I’ll keep doing all the things I do for them and keep asking for what I need. All connections with others are a blessing and this will make those relationships stronger!
@Jennie | Wow. Thank you so much for adding that dimension to this conversation. You’ve added a whole additional layer to what I was trying to communicate.
Giving and receiving is relevant on so many levels in life and, you’re right, being in a position of giving and giving can actually lead to bitterness, burnout, anxiety, if we’re not careful.