Giving is better than receiving
because giving starts the receiving process.
~Jim Rohn
An Excerpt fromRelease Your Obsession with Money: Heal from the Inside Out
Money, money, money—it seems to take on a power greater than its reality. A funny thing about money is that the more you give away, the more that flows back to you.
As the great motivator Jim Rohn wrote, Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.
No doubt giving blocks the resistance when you turn it loose and lighten the grip. This doesn’t mean spend crazily, this means be charitable.
And regarding charity, money can be a touchy subject, especially for those with a strong faith. A funny thing happens when you talk about money—people become uncomfortable, especially when money and Christianity are spoken in the same breath.
You Are Not Your Money
Charity is one of those things people don’t want to talk about, especially if the topic points directly to the person. This seems to be so, especially when the individual is trying to be a good person and do good works, as talking about money seems to be unspiritual or maybe even unclean.
So how do we talk about giving money away when talking about money is uncomfortable? I think the answer starts with the reality that you are not your money.
You and your money are not the same. You are you and what you gained is what you gained. If you dress you up hiding behind money to prove something or to be showy, you are losing sight of you. And then you become tied with the money.
Giving Feels Good!
The money talk is not so uncomfortable when it’s not about keeping but about giving, which removes the greed attached to money.
When Giving Feels Good
Some types of giving can be uncomfortable, however. If you feel you must give out of guilt, that’s not giving freely.
Or, if you give to earn brownie points with God, that too is not giving freely.
To give from the heart without applause or recognition is to give humbly to receive the gift of giving, no more or no less.
I’ve sat in many pews in church and felt bad when the preacher talked about giving money away, especially when I was broke and deep in debt. I had a friend once tell me she quit going to church because every time she went she felt the priest was manipulating her to give more—that if she didn’t; she was bad.
To give or not to give is a choice. But when Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process, you open the flow.
Giving Freely
Giving money is about you, not about guilt or what others do or what others tell you to do. When you read about Jesus earthly ministry and money, he had much to say throughout.
One thing that comes to mind is “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” ~Luke 16:10-11.
We often know this as the principle of little and much. In simpler terms, whoever I can trust with little, I can also trust with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Julie is a perfect example that comes to mind. She’s a young girl living simply with little extra money by cleaning houses, caring for children, and dog walking and dog sitting. She works in fancy homes with diamonds and piles of money lying about, and she watches children for free with people who have no money to pay her. Julie is trustworthy in the smallest of situations to the grandest—for those from the poorest to the wealthiest.
In the parable of the unjust steward, Jesus calls managing money the “least” of our responsibilities. Some believe Jesus was saying money is the first thing we need to sort out. That if we can’t handle our money properly in godly ways, then we’re going to have problems in all other areas of our lives. Having the money isn’t the issue; the question is how you accumulate it and what you do with it—and how it plays into your overall life.
How do you see money? Is it controlling your life? Do you find money is a touchy subject? When you dig deep into money and yourself, what bubbles up for you? Exploring these areas puts a unique spin on money. Rather than the glitz and glitter, it dials back to the responsibility of what money is and what role it plays in your life. And it unpacks money from your identity, as you are not your money.
Thank you for being a part of the reading blog forum and spending time with me and my thoughts throughout these pages. I hope my words lit your excitement to become your best self for you. I look forward to sharing my newest book with you on how to release your obsession with your Phone. God bless you… and your journey through this life and all that awaits beyond…
To learn more about recovery from food addiction, eating disorders, weight issues, dieting, aging, money, and your phone, please check out my Release Your Obsession Series.
Stay tuned… you never know where my mind will wander…
