Many people love this time of year. We spend more time with family, we gather around tables full of food, we exchange gifts – in short, we make memories that we carry with us year after year. As a child, Christmas was almost synonymous with receiving presents. As an adult, I love this season for another reason: the greater emphasis that, we as a society, place on generosity and compassion.
People tend to have a keener eye for the needy this time of year. Perhaps it helps that we have a day on which we focus on giving thanks. Perhaps, also, we realize, as we buy presents for our loved ones, that some people do not share the financial stability that allows for such gift-giving. Whatever the case, this season extracts a kind of generosity that often remains hidden during the rest of the year.
In Acts 20:35, the apostle Paul quotes a statement from Jesus that the Gospel writers did not record, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” A child focused on receiving Christmas gifts might not understand Jesus’ words here, but a little maturity helps us recognize its validity. The Bible offers many proofs that bear up Jesus’ statement. Let’s notice three.
Giving is a way of showing love. One of the most well- known and oft-quoted verses in the Bible is John 3:16. The best-selling Bible translation in English, the King James Version, has this wording, “For God so loved the world, that he gave…” Some misunderstand this wording to mean, “God loved the world so much that he gave…” The actual meaning, which appears in translations like the CSB and the NET is, “this is the way God loved the world: He gave…” Following the example of God the Father, giving to fill a need is a way of showing love.
Giving reminds us whom we should trust. Near the end of 1 Timothy, Paul tells the young preacher, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (6:17 ESV). Remember the impoverished widow in Luke 21? When we give, we express our trust in God and not in our possessions.
Giving reminds us of what is important. Paul closes his instructions regarding the wealthy with these words, “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:18–19). When we share physical possessions, or give our time and energy, if we do so with the right motives, we reinforce our understanding of what truly matters. Undoubtedly, Jesus is right; it is more blessed to give than to receive!
Clay Leonard
