Since being good to people has been one of my personal goals, my “joy tank” never runs dry for very long. I have even discovered that when I do get sad or discouraged, I can begin to think on purpose about what I can do for someone else and before long I am joyful again.
We all experience times in our lives when things are not going great for us. We may even be in the midst of personal loss or pain, but we cannot only be good to people when things are going well for us; we also-and especially-need to bless others when times are difficult for us. The reason I believe we need to be especially diligent about blessing others when we are struggling is that when we concentrate on giving, being kind, expressing love, and blessing other people, it gets our minds off our problems and we experience joy in the midst of our trouble. Why? Because givers are happy people!
You may have heard many times that the Bible says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35 NKJV). The Amplified Bible renders that verse this way: “It is more blessed (makes one happier and more to be envied) to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). You may know that verse, but do you really believe it? If you do, then you are probably doing your best to be a blessing everywhere you go. I must admit that, for many years, I could quote this verse, but I obviously didn’t really believe it because I spent my time trying to be blessed rather than being a blessing.
I have now learned that we do not even know what “happy” is until we forget about ourselves, start focusing on others, and become generous givers. In order to be generous, we have to do more than simply plunk some change in a bucket during the holidays or give to the church once a week. Actually, I think learning to give in church should simply be practice for the way we should live our everyday lives. I do not just want to merely give offerings; I want to be a giver. I want to offer myself every day to be used for whatever God chooses. For this change to take place in my life I had to change my thinking. I had to think and say thousands of times, “I love people and I enjoy helping them.” This power thought will be life changing for you if you put it to work in your life.
As you become a generous giver, you will be amazed at how happy you will be and how much you will enjoy life. In contrast, stingy people are unhappy. Those who are not generous live little bitty, pathetic lives. They just do what they have to do; they look out only for themselves; they don’t like to share; and they only give when they feel they must—and then, they often do so reluctantly or grudgingly.
These attitudes and actions run contrary to the way God wants us to live because they do not result in blessings for anyone. In fact, Proverbs 1:19 says being greedy will drain the life out of a person: So are the ways of everyone who is greedy of gain; such [greed for plunder] takes away the lives of its possessors.
God is a giver. Paul writes, “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]-to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever,” (Ephesians 3:20, 21, emphasis mine). These words describe God, and if we want to be like He is, we need to always go the extra mile, always do more than we have to, always give more than enough, and always be generous.
Think about It
In what ways can you become more generous?
