A Giving Attitude

One of the greatest types of individuals you can look for are those who live to give. Givers are contagious. When you get around a generous individual, all you want to do is give. You have heard it said, ".. .It is more blessed to give than to receive" The reason this is true is that when you receive something, your harvest is already there; you've gotten your reward, and that's the end of it. However, when you sow, the potential within that seed is a bountiful harvest.

The tendency towards selfishness exists in the heart of every man. There is a voice incessantly droning in our ears, "Your life is too busy for you to try to dispense into somebody else's. You can't even handle what's on your own plate. You need to pull back in your giving-if you spread yourself too thin, you'll be no good to anyone." Many individuals are so consumed with their own lives that they feel they are unable to give into the life of another.

This propensity towards selfishness is celebrated by the society in which we live. The bookstores are filled with best sellers advocating self-indulgence and self-gratification as being the road to self-fulfillment. Most of these authors encourage you to turn your attention inward, towards yourself, in order to feel nurtured and fulfilled. Very few people will tell you the truth the path to real happiness, success, and fulfillment is the path of sowing and giving into the lives of others.

You must strive to be on the giving end of all your relationships. As you give, God will make sure to take care of your needs. You don't need to worry about how you are going to get by. Instead remind yourself, "I have been assigned to solve problems in this individual's life." How can you make that happen? What problems can you solve? Many of us have trouble solving our own problems, let alone the problems of another! That is exactly the quandary. we have been focused on our own problems, rather than solving the problems of those to whom we are assigned. The more you focus on solving your own problems, the more you will have to do everything on your own.

However, as you focus on meeting the needs of others, God will do His part to meet yours. He promised to supply seed to the sower. As long as you have seed, then you carry the potential of a harvest. But, in order for potential to become realization, you must first plant the seed. Whether it is money, lending a hand, or giving others encouragement, that is what you must do. Be a giver because whatever you make happen for others, God will make happen for you.

However, you must strategically plant your seed by sowing your life into good ground into others who, like yourself, have chosen the lifestyle of a true giver.

This is important for you to understand. If you neglect to sow your life into good soil, you will be left with nothing when harvest time comes. The Bible says, "If you are too lazy to plow in the right season, you will have no food at the harvest. This is the reason that so many seniors retire with no one to take care of them. They never sowed their lives into the right people. Through the years, others came into their lives, benefited from their diligence, and then left them all alone.

Remember, God operates this earth by laws. He doesn't respond to need; He responds in direct correlation to the law of the seed. Where you sow your ·life today will determine where you will be tomorrow.

You must surround yourself with generous people who understand the law of sowing and reaping. Get around those who motivate you to sow. Givers cannot be friends with non-givers. It will be a lopsided relationship that will not last.

You must surround yourself with generous people who understand and practice the grace of giving. If you are a giver, you will not be happy being in relationship with non-givers, because giving i$n,t just something you do-it's who you are. And "two cannot walk together unless they agree" on this crucial issue!