DISCUSSION:
A teenage boy, Jack, is riding his aging bicycle down the road when he
is pulled over by one of his friends, Tom. Tom was sporting a new car. As he exited the car he told Jack that it was
a gift from his brother. He continued to
show all of the extras the car had and how plush the insides were.
Jack was taken aback by the costly gift Tom’s brother had given him. For
a moment he was speechless. Even though
he hadn’t said anything, Tom had a good idea what he was thinking. Jack opened
his mouth and said, “I wish I….”
Tom didn’t even listen to what Jack actually said for he knew he was
going to say he wished he had a brother like Tom. However, what came out of Jack’s mouth was a
surprise. Jack said, “I wish I could be a brother like that!”
Jack has the right idea about gift giving. As our text says, “It is
more blessed to give than to receive.”
It is a higher privilege; it tends more to the happiness of the
individual and of the world. The giver is more blessed or happy than the
receiver. This appears:
(1) Because it is a condition for
which we should be thankful when we are in a situation to promote the happiness
of others.
(2) Because it tends to promote
the happiness of the benefactor himself. It gives one happiness in the act when
done with pure motives.
(3) It is blessed in the reward
that shall result from it. Those who give from a pure motive God will
bless. They will be rewarded, not only
in the peace which they shall experience in this life, but in the higher bliss
of heaven. (Matthew 25:34-36)