A Giving and A Receiving
Over the past year I have come to realize that life may be viewed in two actions: giving and receiving. You are either doing something for someone or you are getting something from someone. This is not karma; this is the function of the world. The economy of all relations is predicated upon this law that is so simple that it is a stumbling block for the proud.
For many, receiving can be a hard position to be in because we do not know what to give back in equal value. This uncomfortable feeling tends towards guilt, so we begin to turn away gifts that come our way. But how many of us felt guilty as babies when we nursed from our mothers, who tirelessly gave without much visible gifts in return?
Of course it is absurd to think that a baby would decline milk because it couldn’t sustenance necessary for life in return. The baby’s position in life is to receive. As the child grows older, opportunities for them to give presents themselves. Some of my earliest memories are of my parents teaching me to tithe my chore money. Naturally I was selfish and did it begrudgingly. The habit of constantly receiving easily leads to sinful pride.
Giving is much more comfortable for us as we tend to drift towards a legalistic spirit. It gives us a sense of earning the thing we received. So we receive without gratitude and give with insincerity.
We give because we first received. Charity and generosity are two of the most pleasurable experiences we may encounter. To be in a position where kindness is freely extended without anything expected in return is sublime.
My end goal in life is to be in continual benevolence. Every stroke of the pen is intentional. The journey towards financial freedom is for this.
I have been given much mercy and grace in my life. Every passing moment seems to be brimming with it. I have been so fortunate to have had the right people in my life at exactly the right time. Providence has always been laid a few steps ahead for just so that I could rest my feet for a while.
All of the wisdom, the grace, the mercy floods my mind. None of it is extinguished. It’s ultimate purpose is so that I may be prepared to pass that on. My heart has been turned from stone to flesh to prepare it to give with kindness and receive with thanksgiving.
To become a giver is the highest form of thanksgiving for what you have received. So expand and explore your generosity by putting more in the offering plate, by inviting the lowly to your table, by paying for a stranger’s meal, by passing on the wisdom you have received, but most of all, in whatever you do, do it cheerfully. There is no better way to live.