Three Kinds of Givers

By Fr. Adolf Washington –

This season is a special time of giving and sharing. We are blessed with much, even without asking, but there are many who yearn for a meal-a-day and a restful place to sleep. Whatever we do will have no significance if we don’t bring solace to the poor and needy. It was the poor shepherds who first got the news of Jesus’ birth, because Jesus came first for the poor. Jesus said “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me” (Matthew 26:11).

A couple stranded in a storm desperately sought a place to stay. They found an old dark farm house. The couple at home said “We have a small bed-room to stay-over.” In the morning, the young couple placed a few dollars, on the dressing table but were shocked that the elderly couple slept on a hay-stack through the night. The young couple emptied their purses for the sacrifice the elderly couple had made for them.

The Bible accounts of a poor widow who gave the only two coins she had to the temple. Her love for God was immense and charity commendable (Mark 12:41-44). Jesus said, people give out of their plenty, but she gave all she had.

There are three types of ‘Givers’. The ‘Grudge giver’ who says “I hate to give but I give”. The second are ‘Duty givers’ who say “It is my religious obligation so I give” and the third are ‘Thanks-givers’ who say “I give because I am thankful to God for all the blessings God has given me”.

The ‘Thanks-givers’ receive the greatest blessings as the scriptures say “Give to others and God will give to you. You will receive a full measure, a generous helping poured into your hands and all that can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you”. (Luke 6:38)

Here’s something worth meditating: Ask God for a flower, He gives you a bouquet. Ask for a drop of water, He gives you an ocean. Ask for a grain of sand, He gives you a beach. Ask for a blade of grass, He gives you a beautiful lawn.

God’s generosity is greatest towards the Thankful-giver’. What kind of giver are you?