IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE! 7/27/09

IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE!
Once I bought Lonnie a pair of brown corduroy slacks for Christmas. I bought them at an expensive Men's store. He was happy to receive slacks but not that they were cords. He hated cords! Who knew! One Saturday morning he took me back to the store and had me exchange them. However, the pair he got was far more expensive than the cords. I really didn't mind; because it was Lonnie.

Lonnie was always buying Mom jewelry. Many rings! He had his own special Jewelry store. They knew him by name! The weekend before I was married Lonnie brought a beautiful 'blue sapphire ring' for me to see. It was a belated Christmas gift for Mom! After Mom passed away, Jean told us all to go thru Mom's jewelry and take what we wanted. There was a small white gold filigree ring without a setting. It was small and dainty! I had a pearl that needed a home so I took the little filigree ring and had the pearl mounted on it. It is beautiful! I showed it to Lonnie and he said he had given Mom that ring right after the war but he didn't remember what stone had been in it. Jewel had one of Mom's rings that I remembered seeing Mom wear in the fortys. Jewel didn't wear it anymore because it had become too big so she asked me if I would like it. Like it! I loved it! I gave it to Jeri. She was a baby when Mom began to wear it.

The family that lives in Oregon draw family names at Christmas time. Whatever name Jennifer gets she buys for all members of that family. She begins shopping right after the 4th of July. If anyone was born to shop, it is Jennifer! On Christmas eve, these gifts are opened. Everyone wants Jennifer to draw their name! I sometimes have to remind her that she is not Santa Claus but she doesn't hear me because she loves to buy for others.

When I bought Lonnie the cords, I wasn't disappointed that he didn't like cords. I was excited that he went with me to return them and we shopped together. Lonnie was always buying Mom watches and rings and he didn't care that she didn't wear them all at the same time. He just wanted to see the pleasure on her face when she put them on. Jennifer doesn't even have to
be present when the gifts she chooses to give are opened, because she knows she has chosen something they will like.

When we receive a gift with pleasure, we make the giver happy. The word happy in the Bible is 'blessed'. In Acts 20:35 Paul says that Jesus said; "it is more blessed to give than to receive"! Paul was telling the church in Ephesus this because they had taken care of him during his stay there. I checked the cross reference because I wanted to see where Jesus said this. I discovered it is not in the Gospels. However, if Paul said it, we know it's true! In Matthew 6:2-4 Jesus does tell us that when we give; "Do not make a show of it. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give in secret because your Father sees in secret and will reward you." Jesus also says in Matthew 7:11-12 that; "You, who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father who is in heaven, will give good things to those who ask him."

It amazes me how we can take a scripture and turn it around to suit our purposes. Paul was letting the people know that when we give to those less fortunate than ourselves, God will bless us. He was encouraging us to give our tithes and offerings so that those who are in full time ministry of the Lord, can focus on the things above and not on the things of this earth. He was saying, when we give of ourselves and our abundance, God will open the heavens and pour out His goodness upon us. Giving gifts to one another bring us pleasures because of the pleasure it brings to the one we give to. Little things mean a lot! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 6/12/08