“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way 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.”
My Dearest MacKynzie,
I am writing this letter to you today because this is something I want to work on in my own life. I always gladly give time, money, complements and support. I give to my kids, husband, friends, church and strangers. But when someone tries to give to me I feel awkward and ashamed. There are two bible verses above. As I was thinking about this lesson and digging deeper into my own struggle to receive without guilt, I picked up my bible and read. I saw verse after verse about giving:
‘But when you give to the needy’
'It is more blessed to give than to receive’
'Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered’
Receiving is uncomfortable and vulnerable. Of corse I like getting gifts and complements but how can I get better at receiving without feeling awkward and guilty? Sometimes it’s crazy how God works. You know how your attention is on something and all of a sudden you see it everywhere? My husband and I were looking to buy a jeep. The second we got the money I was seeing Jeeps for sale of all shapes, sizes and colors on the corner of every block. How did these all magically appear, I had never noticed them before. While I was thinking about this topic (receiving.. not jeeps lol) I turned on a podcast. One of my favorites is The Business Boutique. Christy Wright was talking about her struggle with receiving. I thought about a book I recently read called ’The Go Giver’. It talks about the five laws of stratospheric success.. guess what the last law is? The Law of Receptivity - The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. I thought about my own giving and how amazing it is to give to someone that receives gratefully. No one likes to give to someone that does not receive with joy. Then I thought about others. I bet many others feel the same way I do. How can they feel the joy and get the benefits of giving without someone there to receive the gift? I realized that it’s a circle. In order to get the full benefits of giving, I must also learn to receive. Receiving isn’t only a blessing to you, it’s a blessing to the giver as well. It is a full circle of blessing... 2 for 1. Think about ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’. Receiving isn’t about me at all, it is about the giver.
My loving advice to you. Do not feel guilty completing the circle. Celebrate the gift (complement or time) that has been given to you. By accepting the gift gratefully and without guilt, you are able to glorify the blessing that you’ve also given to them.
My love to you and my prayer for an amazing life! Live to inspire <3 to create!
The purpose of sharing this letter is to inspire you. Please ‘like’ if you found this article useful and please ‘share’ if you want to help inspire others. You never know who is watching ;)