It is more Blessed to Give

 

We were just toddlers when my parents moved to the U.S. They didn’t have much when they arrived, so most of the things we had were second-hand. Some of my fondest memories come from the weekends we spent thrifting. Summer weekends were dedicated to garage sales. All week, we would highlight and collect garage sale ads from the daily paper. There was no such thing as GPS back then, so I became a genius at reading maps. I remember sitting in the front seat and navigating the driver to the next stop.

Garage sales were also where I learned to be an expert bargainer, always countering the seller’s price with a lower offer. You had to leave knowing you got the best deal possible. I still enjoy thrifting for old antiques and collectibles; it's ten times more fun when you know you're getting a steal.

Not too long ago, while I was bargaining for antiques, I felt the Holy Spirit gently nudge me. "Do you notice that you always want to walk away with the better end of the bargain?" "Try, just sometimes, to let others have the better deal." I was so used to being the receiver, and now I was being called to be the giver. Instead of asking for a few bucks off, it would be nice if I  considered throwing in a few bucks on top.

To be honest, that threw me off guard. That might have taken just some of the fun out of thrifting for me. 

In all my encounters with people, I had always focused on myself and never considered the loss of others. I wanted to walk away feeling blessed, but now I felt God calling me to a place where I could be a blessing to others. He had blessed me in all things, and now I was expected to be more considerate and let that blessing overflow to those around me.

“the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” (Acts. 20:35)

If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other. (Le.  25:14)