Is It Truly More Blessed to Give Than Receive?

Dec 20

Dec 20 Is It Truly More Blessed to Give Than Receive?

Celebrations/Holidays, Jesus, Giving, Christmas

Celebrating Christmas

What do you think… are you more blessed by giving or receiving?

More and more, the celebration of Christmas in America focuses on giving and receiving gifts. This is true wherever in the world we’ve exported the American Christmas culture. And let’s be honest. The focus for most of us is the receiving of gifts rather than giving them.

Is this desire to receive gifts a bad thing? Not necessarily, I guess. But let’s face it—the celebration of Christmas is more commercialized than ever. This isn’t a new cultural phenomenon of the 21st century, but it’s become somewhat of an art form, judging from all the commercials and ads that bombard us.

My first recollection of realizing how commercialized Christmas was is the song “Green Christmas” by comedian Stan Freberg. I heard it on the radio when I was ten years old. It stood out to me because of Freberg’s satire that includes a mention of Bob Cratchit who speaks of the original purpose of celebrating Christmas (click on the link to hear the song).

Freberg saw where American culture was heading and used satire to make his point. His satirical songs were some of what inspired Weird Al’s songwriting. Freberg also saw the plague of political correctness creeping into American culture.

What got me thinking about this is a statement the apostle Paul makes in closing his farewell message to the Ephesian leaders found in Acts 20—

“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35c)

As a student of the Bible, I remember searching the Gospels where Jesus says this. I couldn’t find it. And then I realized this is the essence of the Lord’s ministry and message. The thread of how giving is better than receiving is found throughout the Gospels. One of the obvious places is in the Sermon on the Mount.

Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. (Matt 5:42 NKJV)
When you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your contributions privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you. (Matt 6:3-4 GW)

Back to the question I asked at the beginning—Is giving more of a blessing than receiving? The Lord says yes—an emphatic yes! It is the very nature of God to give—

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matt 7:11-12 NKJV)

My hope for you and everyone this Christmas season is to keep this in mind—God is a Giver. I’ve learned over the years that I can’t out-give God. When I find the spirit of Scrooge or the Grinch creeping into my heart, I’m reminded of all the Lord has given me, my wife, and our family.

May God bless you this Christmas! Be generous and let a godly spirit of generosity continue into the coming New Year. Finally, let me leave you with some reminders of God’s giving nature—

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV)
God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. (John 3:16 GW)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NKJV)
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11 NKJV)
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matt 2:1-2, 11 NKJV)