Giving is getting

No one likes to feel deprived.  When we "give up" stuff, we can feel "less than." 

But some giving up is freeing.  When we give up sweets, we lose weight.  Losing weight - giving it up, so to speak - feels great!  This "loss" is a positive one.

Not all loss is bad.

There is a trend that has been happening for a while - downsizing.  To me, this means we had too much to begin with.

There is something freeing about cleaning house, getting rid of stuff we don't really need (maybe never really did). 

So this is another example of good loss.

It feels better to give than to receive.  That is why the Lord told us, according to Paul in Acts 20:35, we're more blessed when we give than when we get.

Our loss is someone else's gain.  Another cliche, but cliches have a way of ringing true.  A trip to Goodwill feels good on two counts.  We make a more spacious living space for ourselves, and we bless another's life.

So why are we so bent on "getting" most of the time rather than giving?  We need to rethink what we're truly losing, if anything.  What are we gaining when we "lose?"

That is why living forever is going to be such a blast - we will never "lose" time again!  We will never run out of time.  We will never waste time.  We won't even be living in time as we know it here!

What about giving up self?  Does that sound like a good or bad loss to you?

Being selfish stinks.  Yet each and every one of us is born that way - bent on pleasing and satisfying self before others. 

Being selfless, or putting others first, feels like we're losing something.  Oh yeah, we're losing our selfishness!  Bingo!  Another great loss, if we only see it that way.  Losing our "self" to find our self.  Yet another paradox of the Christian life. 

Where to start?  Where everything has its start - at home.  We all have a greater chance to "lose" ourselves for others during this pandemic, being holed up with our family for, going on, a year now.  

I'm sure if we think about this for a moment, we can all come up with ways to "give up" more than just stuff, but our very selves.  

We never lose when we give of ourselves.  The opposite is true - we find great joy, not loss.  

Why not give it a try?  Try giving more than you get.  Lose yourself to find yourself.  You've got nothing to lose but yourself.  That's when freedom happens.

Lord Jesus, we can get so caught up in our own needs that we forget that we are not here to care for ourselves but for others.  Help us not worry so much about "self-care" (all the rage these days) and focus on caring for others instead.  Remind us that we will not feel deprived when we give of ourselves. Set us free to realize this in our lives, Lord.  Help every loss in life be a gain in some way.  Thank You for giving Your life for us, Lord, for Your loss was the greatest gain the world has ever known - Your gift of eternal life. Thank You for Your supreme example of losing Your life to find it.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.