It is better to give.

My husband and I have just experienced the wonderful joy of giving to another. You see, several years back we bought a timeshare in a ski town in our beautiful state of Colorado. We (almost) immediately regretted the decision, but decided to make the best of it. In the past years we haven’t used the timeshare much and rather it has begun to feel like a weight around our necks with the homeowner’s fees, etc, etc. So this year we decided to rent out our week since we wouldn’t be able to use it anyway. After a few weeks, many of the days were not rented, so we began to offer the time to friends, so that at least it wouldn’t just sit empty.

Then, last Sunday, I met a lady who goes to our church at the Christmas choir practice. She introduced herself and said she was getting married in six days and that consumed her thoughts. Later during practice I asked if they were going anywhere and she mentioned a casino town that they would stay at for one night. Later that day it hit me: we had the timeshare time.

It was probably one of the most random voice messages I have ever left: “Hi, are you the one singing in the Christmas choir that’s getting married this weekend? If you're not, this message won’t make sense. I was one of the sopranos singing with you and I got your number from the church directory. I wanted to offer you our timeshare in Breckenridge for the four days after your wedding…” She called me back later, ecstatic! Her joy, and the joy I felt, moved me to tears.

In Acts 20:35, Paul reminds his audience that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Before this last weekend, I knew it. I believed it in my mind as a truth. Now, I know it in my heart! I have experienced it! But what I have realized is that this is how we are to conduct all our giving. We give to others because we are not bothered if we lose it. It was easy to offer the timeshare to my new friend because it was not a loss anyway – it would have sat empty, not earning us money. As God’s stewards, this is how we are to treat all our possessions. They aren’t ours, they are our Master’s, and He doesn’t mind if we offer them to others freely. The mill stone around our necks, a.k.a. timeshare, has been turned into a blessing, because we were able to use it to bless others.

When we hold things so tightly, we miss out on joy and blessing. When we say, “This is mine,” we are carving out an area of our lives that we refuse to give to God. So God can’t use it to bless others, or to bless us. Believe me, this is no easy thing. We all have debts to pay, bills to pay, hobbies to fund, and at this time of year, Christmas presents to buy. The question is, do we want man’s blessing and gifts, or God’s? This is not prosperity gospel. When we turn our entire selves and all we have over to God and depend on Him to provide for us we are blessed because our worth, value, and identity are now found in God, and not in what others think of us, or what we have. This is what it means to be blessed: our identity and inheritance are found in God and cannot be taken away. So when we hear that it is more blessed to give than to receive, it is because giving is a characteristic of God. When we become givers, we become more Christ-like, and we look to God to give us worth and an identity.

So, be blessed and joyful, and be wise, but generous givers.