Why should we give when we receive nothing in return?
The world sees giving as a means to gain. Only fools would keep giving when the only profit is pain. And pain is exactly what results sometimes even when giving is done to bring healing, truth, or warning. The world is set upon a course of self-destruction disguised as self-discovery. Sadly, and contrary to popular belief, the only thing to discover at the core of the human soul is basically selfishness. Maslow called it self-actualizing. It is known by other names as well. Think of words we use to refer to human potential: self-help, true to yourself, independent spirit, empowerment, high achiever, driven, take no enemies, self-starter... So, we are left with the original question – why give with no return if our underlying drive is gain?
Giving seems pleasing as long as it is convenient. We may have the means, the time, and the resources. But let the need impose on our emotional stasis, our well-planned and over-filled time, and it is, at the least, a bother. Of course the decent human being will find avenues of benevolence from time to time, as it fills a need to feel “good”. But don’t let the demands get too frequent, or impose on us. We don’t like to be victims in America. It appears that no part of life remains sacred. The decline of manners, the phenomenon of “road rage” (a term coined in 1988), and bullying characterize the fabric of our culture. We have a sense of entitlement nurtured by a nanny government, litigation madness, and the drive for success. We voyeuristically watch those who appear on television confronting one another and fighting over immoral and amoral lifestyles, laughing as they make fools of themselves
.
Returning to the question of selfless giving, we find a biblical principle has been spoken that to hold tightly to one’s own life leads to loss while the giving away of one’s life brings great gain. If you practice giving long enough you will come to a point when pain seems the only reward for you. I am acquainted with such darkness. It feels like a vat of snakes, or a raft drifting in the dark ocean in the blackness of night. I have given until my soul feels like the parched throat of a desert wanderer. I have been so depleted that tears awake me every morning, and the agony of grief threatens to steal my very sanity. Why can’t you rescue yourself after a lifetime of rescuing others?
Jesus said “Give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back” Luke 6:38 NLT
It is at times of depletion that the only thing to do is to go up to the mountain alone – or to go to the other side of the sea. You cry out for help. You think to yourself “how can this be?” Thoughts tempt you to stop caring, stop giving. So you wait.
We wait because deep down we can’t deny that the Lord will surely come and fulfill his promises. And when he does, healing will give way to renewed strength. Maybe he will send a person to sit on the ground with me as did Job’s friends. Maybe he will come in the night as I sleep and lift me up in his arms.
I will rise up on wings like an eagle.
© Janet McDonald
No comments:
Post a Comment