It's More Blessed to Give than Receive

Even non-Christians are familiar with the teaching of Jesus that says "it's more blessed to give than receive." The actual quote is from the book of Acts, chapter 20 and verse 35:

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

We try to teach our kids about giving all year around, but Christmas presents a special time for us to remind them (and ourselves) that it is truly more blessed to give than receive. We do this through an event that has become a tradition in our house (we've now done it for three years in a row.) Here's what we do:

1. We get a copy of the Samaritan's Purse 2006 Christmas Gift Catalog. They usually mail us one since we're on their list.

2. Each child is given an amount to give away. My wife and I get the same amount too. This year, each person got $125.

3. Each person looks through the catalog and decides on how he/she wants to give away his/her money. There are lots of choices. For instance, you can:

• Buy an Airline Ticket to Save a Child’s Life

• Help a Child Learn to Read & Write 

• Provide Life-Saving Food

• Supply a Thirsty Family with Clean Water

• Change a Life through Vocational Training

In all, there are 38 different ways to give.

4. Then, once we have each allocated our money, we go through the book and see what everyone gave to (we write our names next to our gifts) and talk about it. It's a fun time to focus on others, the joy of giving, and our children's thoughts on why they decided to give to certain needs.

Of course, this simple event can involve any charity. In fact, I know several families who do something similar around the more well-known event put on by Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child. It's a great cause as well. In fact, any gift to Samaritan's Purse is put to good use -- which is the reason they get a top rating from Charity Navigator.

So, if you're looking to give rather than receive this season, you might want to consider something similar. Then again, maybe you have your own giving tradition. If so, please share it in the comments below.

Comments

[Adam Bhakrani]

That really sounds great, especially through mentioning the quote. I wish more people would have this way of thinking - imagine what results can be achieved.

[Steve]

I have always believed that giving and receiving were just as blessed as each other.

Without giving there is no receiving, and without receiving there is no giving.