If you have a red-letter version of the New Testament, you will see all the words of Jesus in Red print while the rest is in the usual black print. I was perusing one of those Bibles and was surprised to see red print, not only in the Gospels but also in the book of Acts. The last quote we have from Jesus is recorded for us in chapter 20 of the book of Acts. Acts 20:35 says, “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.” I always smile when I read this verse because it reminds me of a joke. A professional boxer was converted to Christ. He felt it was wrong to continue hitting people, but he only knew boxing as a profession. When he sought counsel from the deacons in his church, one of them responded, “I Don’t see why you can’t continue. The Bible says that it’s better to give than to receive.” Of course, we all know that’s not what Jesus meant. I remember my mother telling me that one Halloween when I came back from fleecing the neighbors of all the candy I could fit in a pillowcase. My brother was too young to go out, and my mother wanted me to share my candy with him. When I hesitated to comply, she said those infamous words, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.” I did not believe it, but in order to avoid a spanking, I listened to my mother and shared my candy with my little brother.
In his little book “Christian Living Beyond Belief,” McManis says, “God has commanded the church, and Christians in particular, to give. Jesus said, ‘Give’ (Luke 6:38). Paul commanded Christians to give financially to the church (1 Corinthians 16:1–4; Romans 12:8, 13). John exhorted believers to give to those in need (1 John 3:16–18). Hebrews 13:16 says God is pleased when we give to others. Giving is a basic Christian virtue. Giving to God and others reflects the very nature of God. God’s greatest act of loving sacrifice entailed an act of ‘giving’—‘for God so loved the world that He gave’ (John 3:16). One of the most telling barometers of a person’s spiritual maturity is their quotient for giving. God has repeatedly commanded Christians to be giving people, for they are recipients of the greatest gift ever given—salvation in Christ.
The wisest man in the world, Solomon, tells us that there are two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers! Proverbs 30:15 says, “The leech has two daughters: Give and Give.” The leech is a reference to the bloodsucking horseleech that was common in Palestine. The ugly creature serves as an emblem of insatiable greed. If it could speak, it would say, Give! Give! Give! The leech is like the fictitious vampire sucking the very lifeblood from all it comes in contact with. Christians should be just the opposite! We should all be givers. Haley writes, “In this world, there are two kinds of people. Those who throw beer cans alongside the road and those who pick them up. That is, there are givers and takers. All true Christians are givers, but not all givers are Christians. Some give to the wrong people for the wrong reasons. For example, some may give only to those who are able to return their ‘gift.’ Christians, on the other hand, give to those in need out of a sense of their own need to give. They give to debtors out of a sense of their own debt, which has been forgiven. They give to the unlovable out of the abundance of love which they have received.”[1] As I watched my children open up their Christmas presents over many years, and now get to watch my grandchildren do that. I have to agree with Jesus finally. It is more “blessed” to give that to receive.
[1] Haley, John. 1998. “The Christian Gives to Those in Need.” Edited by Brent Lewis. Christianity Magazine, 1998.