Outgiving the Giver
For most men, when we think of giving, most likely we first think of money – the dosh, the doh ray me. The cash!
Well, what if you haven’t got much or any money? You’ve probably heard the saying that God loves a cheerful giver. Are you cut out of that? Definitely not!
But if we haven’t got it, how can we give it? We can sort that out. Give the other things that are usually worth more than silver and gold.
Give a kind word, encouragement, a glass of water, a smile, a hug, a pat on the back. Give good advice or a listening ear. Got it?
We can’t out-give the Giver of the good gifts. We can’t outgive the Owner of all the silver and gold.
This is what the Work Manual has to say on the subject: ‘Each of you must make up your own mind about how much to give. But don’t feel sorry that you must give and don’t feel that you are forced to give. God loves people who love to give’ (2 Corinthians 9:7).
It’s really champion stuff when you can give and the person doesn’t know where it came from. We just make it happen and then get on with it.
Champions experience and know the joy of giving. And it’s champion to be able to receive something with a simple ‘thank you’. I always say it’s made round to go round.
Giving is a two-way deal – the giver and the receiver. We become both on countless occasions. It keeps us balanced, helping us not to get carried away with our own importance. Giving has freedom and champion written all over it, but the world’s way of thinking doesn’t see it quite this way. Our society often thinks it’s more about taking.
In Chapter 2, I told you about a man who gave me the idea and the encouragement to become a truck-driving instructor. 23 years later, I’ve got 6 training trucks and a very successful driver training organisation.
That man didn’t have to give me the time of day – let alone an idea and follow up help to change my future for the better amazingly! He went the extra mile, and put himself out to give to me. Nothing in it for him. All I had to do was receive it.
His little act of giving turned my life around with high gains in all directions.
It becomes easier for me to be stretched in giving, and to give more naturally, after having been given so much. I want to help you understand that the champion within us emerges the more we come to know the true value of giving.
Giving and receiving is taught and caught. Giving is contagious. If we are generous and joyful givers we can actually teach others to pass it on. Don’t give up. Keep at it.
Don’t tell others to give, show them how to, and the benefits from giving, and they’ll catch on. If you meet someone for coffee and say, ‘My shout, I’ll pay’, one day the other person will insist on shouting you a coffee. Then they’re away forever into the freedom of giving.
When we realise how good it is to give, it becomes part of our lives. If you want to learn to give, start small and expect nothing in return. If the person wants to pay you back and you don’t need it, tell them to pass it on.
Giving takes courage, and receiving thankfully gains us freedom in champion living.
