A Lesson in Giving

When I have gone to other countries, I have been amazed at how generous people have been. I have gotten the impression that they have given to me in a manner that they are not used to living in themselves.

When I have arrived, I am given the place of honour in the household. The finest food and drink are brought out. Often friends are invited in for the occasion. My presence in their household is celebrated.

It reminds me of a question a pastor asked in a sermon on giving.

It occurred when I was a very poor student. I was living from week to week. Often I wrote cheques for my landlord and had to tell him not to cash them until I told him.

In the same crowd was a millionaire accompanied with his wife.

The pastor asked the question, “If a millionaire gives one tenth of his wealth to a charity and a person with ten dollars gives one tenth to the same charity, who gives the most?”

An obvious answer is that millionaire gives the most.

The millionaire’s wife was cleverer. She must have excelled at math. She replied, “Since they both give ten per cent, they are giving equally.” Her answer made a lot of sense.

I slipped up my hand. “Yes, John?” the pastor stated.

Without any intent of embarrassing anyone, I said, “The way I figure it, the person who has ten dollars is giving the most. You see, if I give ten per cent of ten dollars, I only have nine dollars left. I can’t do much with nine dollars. However, if I give ten per cent of a million dollars, I still have nine hundred thousand dollars I can play around with. If you gave me the choice of which person I would like to be, it would be the one with a million dollars.”

I’m sure that you’ve heard of the expression “Give till it hurts.” When you have a lot, it doesn’t hurt very much if you have a lot left over. When the giving is sacrificial, then you understand the true meaning of giving regardless if you are the one doing the receiving or the giving.