There is a spectacular event going on inside of each one of us. A sporting event with two teams playing against each other: the grabbers verses the givers.
Grabbers vs. Givers
God calls us to become givers rather than grabbers. This is the whole Gospel message put very simply.
We are born grabbers — we have no other desire than to have our needs met. This desire is very strong and only overcome by a life-long process.
Jesus said, “I came to serve not to be served.” In other words, He came to be a giver not a grabber.
Greatest commandment
Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment, and I’m paraphrasing here, is to give to God all you’ve got; and give to your neighbor as you give to yourself.
Let’s look at 3 verses that bring out this point.
1 John 3:16 — “The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
Jesus could have stayed happy in heaven, but instead He got involved in this big mess.
Matthew 25:40 — “And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
Jesus is rewarding the givers, and not the grabbers. The last word will be about what we gave, not about what we grabbed.
Luke 21:1-4 — (the widow’s mite) “This poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all contributed money they had over, but she, from the little she had, has put in all she had to live on.”
Jesus praised her because she gave everything. She was a sharer rather than a hoarder.
Practice being a Giver
Besides material things, there are many things God calls us to share — both spiritual gifts and natural gifts. God gives us gifts unceasingly. He asks us to give freely what we freely receive, whether it be spiritual, material, natural, psychological.
But it’s easier not to share. It’s too much work and we don’t want to share. We also may not be as good as someone else, and we’re afraid to share our gifts.
However, if we would practice, we could get very good at it.
I’m not going to give to anybody what I want to keep for myself. This tendency to be a grabber is something we have to work at all the days of our lives. We never overcome it completely, but let’s keep practicing.
Remember, the Lord will reward the givers not the grabbers. The last word will be about what we gave, not about what we grabbed.
Gloria G Munoz says
I was moved when I read this article. I could invision in my mind Father Thomas giving this teaching. His teachings were simple and straight to the point.
I am going to practice, so I can be a better person in serving others.
Phillip Penna says
Agreed.