Tag: giving

Shirt Off Your Back

The common thinking is that the idiom about “giving the shirt off your back” originated in the 18th Century. It may have gained popularity back then but it was eighteen centuries before when Jesus said “from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold your shirt” (Luke 6:29). Translation: give to anyone in need, even if that literally includes giving the shirt off your back. And Jesus didn’t just talk the talk as so many so-called “Christians” do today. He walked the walk in going way past giving His shirt. He gave His life.

There’s not much more to say about this. It’s all pretty clear. Someone asks you (or begs) for something, give it to them. No questions asked. And if you ignore that person just think what Jesus did and asks us to do. Are you listening to that dark voice inside or Jesus?

Have a great day giving!

Pay It Forward or Backwards This Christmas. Just Give!

In Missoula, Mont., a man spent more than $1,200 to pay down the balances of six customers whose layaway orders were about to be returned to a Kmart store’s inventory because of late payments. Store employees reached one beneficiary on her cellphone at Seattle Children’s Hospital, where her son was being treated for an undisclosed illness. She was yelling at the nurses, “We’re going to have Christmas after all!” store manager Josine Murrin said.
Margery A. Beck, AP

Pay anything forward or backwards this Christmas. Start with a smile, especially when the other person is not smiling. It doesn’t have to be paid with money; pay by helping someone else. Make sure your local food pantry is stocked. There is always something you can pay forward or backwards, regardless of your means.

But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” Mark 12:42-43

Smile! Give! Help!

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