It's Christmas time as I hit the third on the list of Ten Ways to Love. One week until the day all of our Christmas giving hits the runway, unveiled for each recipient in a scattered havoc of boxes, bags, paper, ribbons and tags.
Give without sparing.
In tangible gift-giving, not sparing a cent or a thought or an opportunity happens without a lot of difficulty. Sure, we sometimes second-guess our purchases or choices or spending limits, because tangible is finite. The money we use has an end. Material goods go only so far.
To give without sparing in marriage, or in family relationships, or in friendship, has a very important, very intangible reckoning for us. We can't always see it coming from others (when it is) and others can't always see ours coming in their direction (when it is).
The Biblical focus of the lesson to Give without Sparing come from Proverbs 21:25-26 --
"The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,
because his hands refuse to work.
All day long he craves for more,
but the righteous give without sparing."
Put this into the light of the day-to-day living of a husband and wife. It sounds a little strange, this "craving of a sluggard" angle from Solomon -- the wisest man who ever lived. Yet, when you view your husband, your children, your family, your friends as "needy" or "wanting" or as stated here, "craving," and you, the sole giver ... you martyr yourself. You become the judge of those you should love with all your heart, rather than suppose and assume and discipline toward the right. Your right.
Giving without sparing has nothing to do with gifts and mementos. It has nothing to do with greeting cards, pokes, pins or tweets. Status updates hold no importance when it comes to sparing nothing in love. Giving without sparing has everything to do with selflessness and putting oneself into a judgment-free zone. It means giving of yourself -- your time, your thought, your work, your energy, your sensitivity, your planning, your hopes, your tolerance, your acceptance, your prayers, your talents, your patience, your joy, and your heart to your God and your husband. Good things will filter down to your children from the top, and you will bless other family and friends with the peace and understanding you begin to develop through focusing on your Top Two.
To give, selflessly and fully, makes the greatest gift of all. Material possessions and the pull they have on our Want List will dwindle when our hearts fill, instead, with focused, purposeful acts of love.
Love is the only thing you get more of by giving it away. ~~Tom Wilson
Love. Let us give more of it!
Others in this series:
- Ten Ways to Love: An Introduction
- Ten Ways to Love: Answer without Arguing
- Ten Ways to Love: Enjoy without Complaint
- Ten Ways to Love: Give without Sparing
- Ten Ways to Love: Listen without Interrupting
- Ten Ways to Love: Share without Pretending
- Ten Ways to Love: Speak without Accusing
- Ten Ways to Love: Forgive without Punishing
- Ten Ways to Love: Pray without Ceasing
- Ten Ways to Love: Trust without Wavering
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