We give AND we receive
Photo by Frank Vessia on Unsplash
So I’m reading from the Old Testament and I came across this passage in Genesis 12. I couldn’t help but meditate for awhile.
“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and YOU WILL BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed THROUGH YOU.”
I’ve capitalized some words for emphasis because I constantly need that reminder. I think we all need that reminder. God blesses others THROUGH US. How crazy, and incredible, is that?
In the thousands of years since God spoke those words, the three-part formula hasn’t changed.
1) God blesses us.
2) We bless others.
3) God blesses us again.
When we hold back our blessing from others, keeping it all for ourselves, that’s when misery arrives. That’s when frustration ensues. That’s when we begin to drift and feel hopeless.
So today, let’s commit to breaking that cycle. To help, let’s break down the formula into digestible bites for a better understanding.
1) God blesses us — Do you enjoy a certain activity? Do people tell you you’re really good at a certain activity? Do you ever get lost while working on a certain activity?
That’s God’s gift to you. Seriously. How cool is it to have something in your life that you’re so curious about, so committed to pursuing, so intent to master, that you forget all else when you’re doing it?
Please don’t take that for granted. That’s an absolute blessing. And please don’t forget the role of that blessing. It’s not meant to stop with you. It’s meant to flow THROUGH you.
2) We bless others — Are you good with numbers? The accountant is a blessing to those who aren’t. Do you understand complicated laws and court proceedings? The attorney is a blessing to those who don’t. Do you love to crawl under your car, slide through the grease and tinker with your engine? The mechanic is a blessing for those who don’t.
Think about some common phrases we’ve all heard or shared at some point in our lives:
•GIVE it your best.
•GIVE your word.
•It’s better to GIVE than to receive.
I don’t recall ever recall someone advising me to “hoard” my best or “hide” my word. The common focus is always GIVE.
Legendary basketball coach Don Meyer expands on this thought.
“If you’re not serving people, it’s an empty, futile life. It’s no fun. The best thing in the world is to give your gift away,” he explained.
“Find out what your unique gift or talent is, develop it to the fullest — people don’t pay for average — then give your gift away every day. That way you’ll be happy. If there’s a day you don’t give your gift away, that’s a wasted day.”
And when we do that, this happens …
3) God blesses us again — Do you delight in watching your kids perform in a play, make new discoveries in class, or help their teams in athletic competition? Their blessing has now become YOUR blessing. Their blessing has become a blessing for their cast mates, their teachers and their teammates and coaches.
We may look different, come from different backgrounds, and share different life experiences, but I’d be willing to wager you’re a lot like me in this regard: There’s nothing that fuels me more than seeing “the light bulb turn on” for my kids, a player I train, or a friend.
Though we’re not all professional teachers or coaches by trade, we’ve all been created as “blessers,” with a deep desire to unlock the potential lying dormant in others. That’s why I’m typing these words right now. My hope is that someone who reads this today will be freed to shake the “I’ve got nothing to offer” myth and instead receive the truth that “I’ve got something valuable to share.”
Think about it this way: If someone gives you $1 million and you immediately hide it in your underwear drawer, how much is it really worth?
Exactly.
Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.
A gift not shared is actually a curse.
Water that stops flowing becomes infested with mosquitoes and other unsavory insects.
Teams with a “ball stopper” kill even the best diagrammed offenses.
Life is the same. We’ve got to keep moving. We’ve got to keep the blessings flowing. It’s a pretty simple formula for how it works, but I fully understand how we become deceived. Maybe a parent told you “you’ll never amount to anything.” Maybe a coach said “you stink.” Maybe a teacher called your work “garbage.”
You know what? They lied. They were comparing you to others. They were angry and used those words to lash out. They were either too lazy or too distracted to see YOUR unique gifts.
So let me be the first person this year to proclaim that YOU have a genius inside just waiting to come out. YOU have been created to impact others. YOU are gifted to bless. And, Lord knows, 2021 would be a great time to start. So to keep you going when life gets hard, tuck this formula into your backpack:
1) God blesses us = Gifts we develop to the fullest
2) We bless others = Sharing the gifts we develop
3) God blesses us again = We find joy in seeing others thrive
True fulfillment comes, Nicky Gumbel writes, “when we make others feel more alive than when we first encountered them.”
Over the past several months we’ve witnessed scores of people locked away in a prison of fear. A prison of anger. A prison of despair.
Maybe all they need is for someone to show up.
With a key to unlock their own unique potential.
And maybe that someone is you.
(Tim Kolodziej is the creator of EnspireU.com and author of this piece. If you would like to receive encouraging/inspiring messages, videos, and motivational stories each morning, text him at (412) 226-4977.)