To Learn to Give

Short blog post today, this time I am going to be talking about giving. We have all heard the stories of Christmas being a holiday of giving, and how giving is the true spirit of Christmas. Considering the holiday is supposedly to be remembering Christ (along with the token consumerism) I feel this is very appropriate, mainly because of Acts 20:35, in which Paul remarks that one of Jesus's teachings is that it is better "to give than to receive." I honestly feel that this is very much so true. Giving, in a sense, is a way in which we can rejuvenate ourselves. Many religions, Mormons included, say that we should try to be in the world but not of it (basically don't lose yourself in the "secular things of gambling, whoring, money, etc.). However, I personally have always found it vague on how we are supposed to avoid being so "worldly". Queue the traditional lesson of Christmas. I find giving to others through service and any means we have is a very good way of refreshing oneself. Helping others has recently become a way in which I can calm myself down from anxiety. The gift of giving is a way in which we are able to pull ourselves closer to the spirit and push ourselves away from the secular desires around us. We no longer become swamped in our desire to better oneself when we are focused on helping someone else. Doing so also encourages others to give, thus causing a chain reaction of spiritual help and warm fuzzy feelings from being a good person. I feel that being able to give is giving just as much to us as we are giving to those we help, namely through blessings and a rejuvenation of the spirit. I would like to challenge everyone to give something to someone over the next week, such as give a small sad kid a cookie, or help with service or volunteer work. I plan to.