I cut the Bible this week and it opened to Matthew 10:41. The message version is this: “Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help.”
I paused for a bit. Hmmm….accepting is like giving, too?
Reflection moment. How am I able to give when I receive?
Luke 6:38 says it another way: “Give and you will receive.” Or isn’t there a saying “ The more you give, the more you get?”
So which is which?
Instead of filling my head with reasons and questions, I simply accepted.
Ah! So when I decide to accept the truth especially the Word of God, I can share it with other people…giving them the chance to know the Word….like writing about it now.
OK, now you may be confused.
As I said, I stopped thinking about the why’s and wherefore’s and simply think of the times I have accepted things and how I used the experience to inspire others.
My younger sister, because of financial constraints, would often come to me for loans which, more often than not, do not get paid. Admittedly, at first it was an irritant but I finally accepted the
fact that as she is family, it is love that makes me help her out and not just kindness.
With our help, she finally found work abroad that has brought prosperity to her and her family. Her son has even joined her now in that foreign land.
God is good! When I accepted my role as a giver, I saw how God’s hand move in my sister’s family and this is a testament that I can share anytime with anyone who doubts God’s existence.
For my sister’s part, she accepted help from the family, though I knew it hurt her pride. Now that she has prospered, she is now giving back. Because she accepted help, she is able to give help.
I schooled myself to be independent and strong-willed. I refuse to accept defeat. I thought I could solve any problem that came my way. There came a day when I fell flat on my face in spite of all my planning.
Today, I have learned to seek help when I know there is someone who can do things better than me. By accepting help from other people, you gain wisdom. You may not be get the credit for solving the problem, but you learn from those who helped you out. Next time around, when you encounter someone with the same problem, you’d be able to help out. By receiving help from others, you are able to be of help to another person who will need it.
Pride is a bitter pill to take. We sometimes refuse to swallow our pride because we always want to look good to other people.
Those who have a high stature in society will not want to beg or look helpless or admit they need help.
Those who have less in life may also find it hard to swallow their pride because they don’t like to be pitied. Their pride pushes them to prove to others that they can rise from the ashes without asking for anyone’s help.
Pride can destroy us. It is a mortal sin, remember? It made the great-looking Lucifer seek to be like God or even surpass His power. He fell from God’s favor because of pride.
Pride is good when it wishes others well. It is loving and not being boastful. I will always be proud of how my children have grown up to be wonderful adults. I will always be proud to be a child of God. It is with pride that I will tell the world of His love and goodness.
But pride brings us doom if because of it, we refuse to accept that we need help; that we don’t know everything and that we need others to fill us in.
In short, if we can only accept we are nothing and that God is the only One who can bring out the best in us (and not by our own achievements), the easier it is to share love for others. By accepting love and enjoying it, we can pass this on to others because we know how amazing it feels to be given love.
So what about “Give and you shall receive?”
For me it’s simply the cycle of love.
When others give to us, we accept. And when we accept, we want to give away that experience of love and help.
The cycle continues. And in every giving and receiving, everyone thanks and honors God. This is what it is all about: giving back the glory to the Ultimate Giver.
It is not coincidence that today is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. He was the epitome of humility and self-denial.
He threw pride away, gave up his family’s wealth and decided to dedicate his life to God and the poor. He didn’t mind receiving help from other people—be it for his sustenance or his mission work. In return, the more he shared with people that God is alive and present even in their poverty and hardship.
Learn to accept so we can give more. God’s words. And it’s all truth.