“In giving a gift, you are attached to it. In receiving a gift, the blessing that comes to the giver is your chief delight. And the you that is attached to the gift that is given is either a gift just like the physical gift, or it is a booby-trapped box full of hidden emotional expenses. Do not be like the woman that C.S. Lewis said lived for others — and you could always tell who the others were by their hunted expression” (God Rest Ye Merry, pp. 102-103).
Have 'Em Delivered
Write to the Editor
I really like this. One thing that has become so convoluted is this secular claim that, “it is better to give than to receive.” Well yes of course, because it denotes power and privilege and makes us feel good. Christ however, washed His disciples feet. Forgiveness is to be received, our Savior is to be received. That makes many of us uncomfortable.
One thing that has become so convoluted is this secular claim that, “it is better to give than to receive.”
Jesus was a secularist?
Christ is full of paradoxes layers of profound wisdom. The verse I like says, “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Who is more blessed in that equation? Who holds all the power? The giver. We like holding all the power! Most of us would prefer to be giving rather than standing in line at a food bank, for example. “Blessed” does not necessarily mean “better,” in the secular definition… Read more »
The maxim, taken from Jesus and placed in a secular-only mouth, is indeed twisted, in practice. Like when it is used to justify higher taxes, for example.