Day 1: There is More Joy in Giving Than Receiving

One of the most counterintuitive of all Jesus’ teachings — that goes against everything we hear, and even the intuition of our own heart — is his teaching on money and generosity:

In Acts 20v35, Jesus says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

The word translated to “blessed” is μακάριος (makarios) in Greek, and it means happy, fortunate, or well-off.

Some of you may just not agree with Jesus on this one. It’s easy to think that Jesus’ teachings on money are “right,” but not very good — certainly not the path to true happiness. But that could not be more wrong:

All sorts of research from the social sciences has shown that — You ready? — Jesus was exactly right. Generous people are happier, healthier, have lower levels of depression and anxiety, are more interested in personal growth, have better relationships, have a higher life expectancy, and, according to one study, literally laugh more!

Listen to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:

19-20: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Notice that, for Jesus, money is ultimately about our hearts. One of his central insights is that our heart follows our money. We often think it’s the opposite; our money follows our heart. Meaning, we spend money on what we love and care about. But Jesus is saying that it works both ways. We also come to love, worry about, and obsess over what we spend our money on.

22-23: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

A “healthy” eye was a figure of speech in Jesus’ day. If you have the NIV, there’s a footnote after the word “healthy” — “The Greek for healthy here implies generous.” And another one for “unhealthy” — “The Greek for unhealthy here implies stingy.”

It was a way of saying there are two different ways of looking at the world that have come to be called an “abundance mindset” and a “scarcity mindset.”

If you have an abundance mindset, you look out at the world and you see a world of abundance. But if you have a scarcity mindset, you look out at the world and you see a world of lack.

Jesus goes on to say …

24: No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Not “you should not.” Not “hey, you should rethink,” but no, “you cannot.” It’s not that it’s bad; it’s that it’s impossible. And money will take over your heart unless you resist its gravitational pull.

How? According to Jesus, through generosity!

Now, Jesus is a brilliant teacher. And I want you to see that he’s teaching on at least three levels here.

First, Jesus is teaching his apprentices about how to see God and our life in God’s world. God is “our Father.” My kids don’t worry about rent or groceries or medical bills because they have a father and mother who provide for them. Jesus said we don’t have to worry about what we will eat or drink or wear, because God is our Father.

Second, Jesus is teaching his apprentices about the architecture of our hearts. Billy Graham once said, “If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.” That’s right in line with Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 6. Get your relationship with money right, and it will set your heart free.

Thirdly, Jesus is teaching his apprentices about the practice of generosity. For generosity to make you happier and healthier, it can’t be a one-time event or even a random act of kindness. It has to be a practice.

I have yet to meet an unhappy, generous person. All the people I know who have discovered the joy of generosity never turned back. It will cost you — literally — to put Jesus’ teachings into practice. But you will get back far more than you give away. Because “There is more joy in giving than receiving.”