“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35 NIV)
We recently made an interesting observation with our cats.
We have two, of course, so that no one goes lonely when the people leave the house. The older, larger cat is named Tiger. He’s an orange tabby who used to be strong and playful. At eight years of age and a gracious seventeen pounds he rules the roost with an iron paw. He’s the boss and he knows it. He tends to be loud, assertive and lazy.
And then we have Atticus. He was the runt of the litter and therefore was bottle-feed for several months. Though purebred Persian, he never has quite caught up in size. His teeth did eventually straighten out and his eyes uncrossed. His luxurious coat requires a lot of upkeep and his tiny mouth makes eating a challenge.
A couple years ago we put Tiger on a vet-recommended diet. He has yet to lose any weight. This week we finally caught on to his cheat method. See, the kitty bowls are round with a slightly raised center. When feeding time comes, Tiger sits in front of Bowl A (effectively blocking it with his girth) and eats from Bowl B. When he’s eaten the center out of Bowl B he moves on to Bowl A, allowing Atticus access to Bowl B. But because the food has been pushed to the sides of the sloped bowl, Atticus – with his very flat face – can’t hardly access the food remaining in the bowl. By the time Tiger has finished his first pass at both food bowls, he’s had his fill and effectively saved the rest for later. He’s also ignored the needs of his adoptive brother.
Yesterday, I was folding laundry and listening to a sermon on generosity when I walked past the food bowls. I immediately recognized my tendency toward the same sort of antics with finances, energy and resources. I like to set some back so I can enjoy it alone, rather than share it freely with others.
The preacher tugged on my heart as I considered those half-empty cat bowls. “God invented giving for us, to drive greed and selfishness out of our hearts.” (Tom Jacobs) In all the sermons I’ve heard on giving, this is the most sensical thing yet. God doesn’t need my gift. He has everything and everything I have comes from Him. I need to give to fight back my bully-Tiger nature. Giving is how we keep our flesh in check, how we exhibit trust that God is going to provide again. Giving is how we live out Kingdom principles in the pages of our own story.
Pastor Tom preached on, he had my full attention now: “If we pursue getting, we’ll always be empty. If we pursue giving, we’ll always be full.” Our Tiger strolled by to check on his food bowl as if to solidify the sermon point. His whole life centers around those two food dishes.
Atticus, on the other hand, somehow lives almost entirely unmotivated by food. He is instead, totally concerned with connection and affection. He follows us around the house and cries with big brown tears and a tinny little meow when we leave. Tiger, in turn, could care less if we come or go as long as the food bowl stays full.
When we are constantly concerned with getting, we wind up missing the reality that our life is already full. When getting is reduced to a means for giving, it is shrunk down to appropriate size and we can look around and enjoy the beauty of the live we’ve been blessed with. We can turn our heads toward more important and lasting things. We can free ourselves up from the crush of desire by giving our lives away to the things that matter most.
“Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gains.” (Psalm 119:36 NIV)
Lord, we recognize our tendency to hoard when You have directed us to give. Today we see how selfishness ties up our heart in things far below our purpose. Help us intentionally beat back our selfish nature. Open up our wallets, our hearts, and our homes as we seek to find fullness by other means. Amen.