Monday, December 22, 2008
Thanks, and then Giving!
It is not an accident that Thanksgiving introduces the holiday season, beginning with Thanks. The other bookend is Giving. At Thanksgiving we talked about the vital importance of Gratitude, Thanks, to happiness and fulfillment. Just as vital to our mental and spiritual health is Giving, commemorated by Christmas and Hanukkah in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
The Bible encourages us to give.
Jewish Scriptures:
Give generously to him 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. Deut 15:10.
The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. Prov 11:25.
Christian Scriptures:
It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
Give, and it shall be given to you. For whatever measure you deal out to others, it will be dealt to you in return. Luke 6:38
For God so loved the world that he GAVE his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.
How about other traditions?
Hindu wisdom says “They who give have all things; they who withhold have nothing.”
Dalai Lama: “If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.”
Arab proverb: “If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.”
Lao-Tzu: He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.”
Pericles, Greece: What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
Seneca, Rome: There is no delight in owning anything unshared.
Churchill: We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Albert Schweitzer: I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know, the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.
C. S. Lewis: Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.
Lord, thank you for making the world and giving it to us. Thank you for giving us life. Thank you for giving us your image, as a generous Giver. The wise of all times and places teach us to give to each other, and that in so doing we will become more truly ourselves. Amen.
The Bible encourages us to give.
Jewish Scriptures:
Give generously to him 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. Deut 15:10.
The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. Prov 11:25.
Christian Scriptures:
It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
Give, and it shall be given to you. For whatever measure you deal out to others, it will be dealt to you in return. Luke 6:38
For God so loved the world that he GAVE his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.
How about other traditions?
Hindu wisdom says “They who give have all things; they who withhold have nothing.”
Dalai Lama: “If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.”
Arab proverb: “If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.”
Lao-Tzu: He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.”
Pericles, Greece: What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
Seneca, Rome: There is no delight in owning anything unshared.
Churchill: We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Albert Schweitzer: I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know, the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.
C. S. Lewis: Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.
Lord, thank you for making the world and giving it to us. Thank you for giving us life. Thank you for giving us your image, as a generous Giver. The wise of all times and places teach us to give to each other, and that in so doing we will become more truly ourselves. Amen.
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