Jesus teaches us according to Paul with these words, “In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35. Generally when we think about giving we think about giving money. This is true of course. However, let us point out that we can give in 3 different ways. We can give of our treasure (or money), but we can also give of our talents, and we can give of our time. Let us call it the 3 T’s of giving as a way to help us remember: Treasure, Talent, and Time. In the body of Christ here at Providence we have such a varied pool of talents. Folks with talents in cooking, sowing, auto mechanics, health fields, teaching, carpentry, finances, exhortations, creativity, logging, farming, gardening, etc.. We also have folks who have various amounts of time they can sacrifice and give. So when Jesus said “It is more blessed to give than to receive” let us consider that I can give in any, or all of these ways. Now notice Jesus expressed there is happiness in receiving. We all like to receive things, do we not? Yet He teaches us that there is MORE happiness in the giving. The world may not believe such. Those who believe the Lord, and have practiced this teaching can attest to the fact that there is indeed a lot more happiness and joy in giving. There is joy in receiving gifts, but more joy in the giving. I challenge each of us to strive to live what Jesus taught us in this verse. Look for ways to give of your treasures, talents, and time. You will be blest and will be a blessing to others. Many doors of opportunity will come from the noble life style of being a giver. You will be following the example of Jesus himself who gave so much that we could be redeemed by the blood of the lamb. May God give us faith, and courage to follow this mind set in our lives. Thanks be to God for all who are living this way.
— Dan McKibben
