What I receive from God overflows into my life, fills me with joy and delight, influences my thoughts and feelings, and moves me to share all of it with others, urging them to accept the blessings available to me and become happy, at least for as long as those blessings continue to work in their lives. For the little house of happiness, this becomes the next brick, called ‘I share.’ It is worth paying attention to the word ‘I.’ It must be present in this material as well; otherwise, the result will be defective and will not withstand testing.
We came into this world naked, and we will leave it the same way. We will take nothing from here except our character. Therefore, God intended all our material and spiritual blessings to teach us to give, to begin sharing with those in need by giving what will support and bring joy to the people around us. Every gift from God is intended for serving others. Of course, we must approach this wisely and consider whom to give to and what to give, how much to give, how to give, and whether to give at all. We are God’s stewards. All the money, possessions, talents, and time we have are ours, but they do not belong to us; we only manage them. God knows that we need food and clothing and that we need rest, but He is very interested in seeing how we share His gifts. After all, giving is an eternal law of Heaven. We will be doing it throughout Eternity.
Have any of you experienced delight and happiness because you once gave something to someone? Have you noticed what a joy it is to share? Not when you regret that you now have nothing left, but when you see that, because of you, someone now has something—that your gift or donation enables a person to meet a need and glorify God for it. We can give both material and spiritual things.
Material things are what will remain in this world when we leave it, but while we are alive, we can use them and enjoy possessing these blessings.
Spiritual things include possessing love, talents, time, emotions, and everything I will take with me into Eternity. Some people can sing, some can play musical instruments, some can comfort, some can cook, and some can listen. All these abilities can be used to serve others. We were all created for one another, and we live joyfully when we use our gifts to serve our neighbors.
Look! Everything in the world was created to serve something or someone else. Sometimes only a human being becomes selfish, giving nothing but merely accumulating and gathering, building storehouses for himself and expanding them. In the end, he dies, and all his possessions go to someone who has no idea what they are for and may therefore squander everything very quickly.
Giving is God’s principle. If He stopped giving to us, we would simply perish. All Heaven considers what else it can give us. God has already prepared so many gifts for us and is waiting for the opportunity to give them to us freely when we ask or when we are in need. These blessings are described in the Bible. The Lord is simply waiting for the moment when we begin learning about them and asking Him for them. But why do we need these material and spiritual gifts? Is it merely to use them, enjoy them, and nothing more? I believe God is also interested in our taking what we need and passing the surplus on to others.
I once heard the following truth, and I liked it very much: ‘When we reach Heaven, God will never rebuke us for giving too much.’ He will never say, ‘You behaved so badly; you gave so much to others.’ He will never rebuke anyone for that. And second: ‘He will never scold us for keeping so little for ourselves.’ I can see that the person who said this understood what he was talking about. I live this way and see how fascinating it is to be a simple channel through which God distributes resources: here, there, to these people, and to those people.
God also understands that everyone must be paid what is due: taxes and insurance to the government, rent to the landlord, and money for food and personal hygiene supplies. Those to whom I pay what is due also take care of us. The police protect us, and they need something to live on. The government creates laws that protect our property, our daily lives, and our lives themselves. The authorities need resources. They are not robbing us when they require what rightfully and legally belongs to them. We live in a country that cares for its citizens. Perhaps there are people in your family who need food and clothing. You must give to them as well. There may be relatives who are not as well provided for. There may be missionary projects. There are so many needs. And we manage these flows of money. Who is a steward? A steward is someone who wisely distributes the resources he has received and that are under his control. Take a church treasurer, for example. Every Sabbath, he receives money through offerings. As treasurer, does he have a right to even one penny of those funds? No. What, then, is his role? He takes everything we have given him and then distributes it: tithe goes there, offerings go here, and donations go elsewhere. He distributes it and sends it out; nothing remains with him. If he is entitled to a fixed salary, he receives only that salary, regardless of the amount of donations received. In God’s eyes, we are the same kind of people. Heaven is interested in all my affairs and projects, and it watches me.
There is such a concept as wise saving. God does not call you to give everything away and then wonder and worry about how to survive until your next paycheck. He calls you to act wisely. For example, if circumstances allow, savings should include an amount set aside for unexpected expenses. That is wise. But saving merely so that I can have a great deal of money and let it comfort my soul is a sin. The amount may be very small, but the very spirit of accumulating merely for the sake of accumulating is wrong. The apostle Paul wrote that it is more blessed to give than to receive. But when I experience this myself, I see from Paul’s words that he understood what he was writing about. This truly is happiness. There is such satisfaction in being able to help someone or support something. It is especially joyful when your contribution bears good fruit. Yet the essence of happiness is not in that result, but in receiving and then passing what you have received on to others.
In Israel, the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out of it. The Sea of Galilee is still home to many living creatures. But when the river flows into the Dead Sea, it does not flow out again; its water only evaporates. The very name of that sea speaks for itself without any further explanation.
But giving is not enough for complete happiness. We must also know how to receive. We must know how to ask so that we may receive. Those who wish to give us something also want to be happy, and we should support them in this. God takes great pleasure in giving when there are people who ask. I must learn to receive what He has prepared for me. The same principle applies to people who want to share with you. Do not deprive them of happiness, especially when they want to give you their love, friendship, and time.
I share. This is a very strong material for building the little house of happiness, and we cannot do without it.
Bible verses for this chapter:
1 Kings 17:12–16; John 12:24; Acts 20:35; Matthew 7:7–8, 11; 10:8; Luke 6:38; 12:33–34; 2 Corinthians 9:7–11; 8:2–5, 9, 13–14; 1 John 3:16–18; Galatians 6:2; Philippians 2:3–4; James 2:15–17