The Gift of Giving
Happier Living Series
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Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.—Luke 6:38
The issue
Love is the gift that grows the more you share it with others. It is the one area of life where it pays to be an absolute spendthrift. Give it away! Throw it away! Splash it over! Empty your pockets, shake the basket, turn the glass upside down—and tomorrow you will have more than ever! As Jesus taught, “Do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:35). If you will step out by faith and share God’s love with someone today, you’ll find that God will bless your giving and others will be blessed. May we, as Christians, always be known for our love—our love for God, our love for others, and our love for those who have yet to hear the good news of the gospel or see a living example of God’s love.
The red scarf
It happened years ago on one of those cold December days that made people wish they had shopped in July. Snowflaked winds whipped through the streets. Hunched on a sidewalk bench sat an unshaven man. He wore a threadbare jacket and shoes with no socks. He had folded a paper bag around his neck to keep out the biting wind.
One shopper paused, saddened by the man. “Such a pity,” she thought. But there was really nothing she could do. While the shopper lingered, a little girl, eleven or twelve, walked by and spotted the frostbitten figure on the bench. Wrapped around the girl’s neck was a bright red woolen scarf.
She stopped beside the old man, unwrapped her red scarf and draped it tenderly about his neck. The child skipped away. The man rubbed the warm wool. And the shopper crept away, wishing she had been the one to give the scarf.
I was that shopper and that little girl taught me something that day. Wherever I am, whatever I possess, there is always something I can give—a touch, a smile, a prayer, a kind word, even a red scarf.—Sue Monk Kidd
What the Bible says...
Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.—Deuteronomy 15:10
In all things I have shown you that … we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”—Acts 20:35
Helping others
As Christians, we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). The Bible says that our love for one another would be the sign for the world of our discipleship and love for Christ to the world—a tall order (John 13:35). Our acts of intentional giving to others are an important manifestation of our love for others.
Pass it on
He was driving home one evening, on a two-lane country road. Work, in this small Midwestern community, was almost as slow as his beat-up Pontiac. But he never quit looking. Ever since the Levis factory closed, he’d been unemployed, and with winter raging on, the chill had finally hit home.
It was a lonely road. Not very many people had a reason to be on it, unless they were leaving. Most of his friends had already left. They had families to feed and dreams to fulfill. But he stayed on. After all, this was where he buried his mother and father. He was born here and knew the country.
He could go down this road blind and tell you what was on either side, and with his headlights not working, that came in handy. It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. He’d better get a move on.
You know, he almost didn’t see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe, he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill that only fear can put in you. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm. By the way, my name is Joe.”
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Joe crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two.
Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down her window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid. Joe just smiled as he closed her trunk.
She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Joe never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed, and Joe added “…and think of me.”
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight. A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small café. She went in to grab a bite to eat and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy-looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out-of-work actor; it didn’t ring much.
The waitress came over and brought a clean towel for the lady to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she didn’t let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe.
After the lady finished her meal, while the waitress went to get her change from a hundred-dollar bill, the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. She wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on a napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote. It said: “You don’t owe me a thing, I’ve been there, too. Someone once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here’s what you do. Don’t let the chain of love end with you.”
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night, when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could she have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Joe.”—Author Unknown
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Spread love everywhere you go; first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor. … Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.—Mother Teresa
Think about it...
I shall pass through this world but once. Any good that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now and not delay it. For I shall not pass this way again.—Stephen Grellet, 1855
The measure of all love is its giving. The measure of the love of God is the cross of Christ.—J. I. Packer
What the Bible says…
Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person.—1 Corinthians 10:24
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.—1 John 3:17–18
Published on Anchor February 2025. Read by John Laurence.
