Acts 20:35: “It Is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive”

INTRODUCTION

One time when I was teaching sixth grade—it was near Christmas time, and we were talking about Christmas presents—and I remarked to my students, “You know, it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

One of my best students—a girl—said, “Mr. Sommerville, that just makes no sense!”

That it is more blessed to give than to receive made no sense to her because she was so young—she had so little experience in life.

She was a thoughtful child. She was telling it as she saw it.

Now that little girl would be in her 60s, and she has done a lot of giving and receiving; I am pretty sure that she has a different view by now.

Do you know where that saying comes from?

I. It’s in the Bible. Jesus said it. But it’s not in the gospels. It’s in the Book of Acts, in the 20th chapter.

St. Paul was on his way to Jerusalem to be in time for the Festival of Pentecost. What Paul didn’t know, but we know, is that there he would be arrested, spend several years in prison, experience a shipwreck, end up under house arrest in Rome, where he would eventually be executed.

However, at this place in the story, he had made a stop at a town named Miletus, where he sent for the elders of the church in Ephesus because he wanted to bid them farewell.

He would doubtless have preferred to make a visit to Ephesus, which was a few miles inland, but there was no time, so he sent word to the leaders of the church to meet him at Miletus for a visit.

In his speech, as recorded in Acts 20, Paul told these people how he had served them with humility and with tears and with trials. He reminded them that he had been faithful in teaching them in public and from house to house.

He also told them that he was on his way to Jerusalem, knowing that there would be afflictions awaiting him there. But he had no choice, he said, because he felt compelled to finish his work of proclaiming the gospel.

It was a sad speech because, as he told them, this was his farewell. He knew that he would never return to Ephesus.

Paul used himself as an example of what it means to belong to Jesus.

His example would be especially powerful because his listeners knew him well, and they knew that every word he said was the true.

Let me read the last part of the speech in Paul’s own words (Acts 20:31-end):

“Be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. [At this point, we can picture Paul holding up his work-worn hands. He goes on] In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they all wept and embraced Paul and kissed him, sorrowing most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they brought him to the ship.

As I said, one might take these words for boasting, except that these people knew Paul well, and they knew that he was example of everything he taught.

He had taught them and warned them of dangers and wept for them.

He had supported not only himself but also his companions with his own hands. They had seen him hard at work sewing the heavy haircloth of the tents he made for his living.

They knew that he wasn’t interested in their silver or gold, but only in their souls.

They knew that he had taught him daily, in public and house to house.

And he had set them an example. And it is that example that he wants them to remember.

And so he gives us some words of Jesus that are not included in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

II. We all have experienced the embarrassment and awkwardness of receiving. And we have experienced the joy of giving.

A. It’s easier to give than to receive, isn’t it?

So often when someone does a generous action or presents us with a generous gift, it humbles us.

We think, even if we don’t say, “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” Or, “How can I repay you?”

When you receive an unexpected gift, you have a feeling of obligation.

But when you give an unexpected gift you have a feeling of fulfilling your purpose in the world.

The happiest people in the world aren’t those who have the most but those who feel the most useful—the ones who feel like their lives have blessed others.

So, it is important also to be able to receive—and so to let another person feel blessed. We don’t have to feel embarrassed—or obligated—or unworthy—we just have to feel loved.

I want to give you a little warning here. I am not talking about gifts that expected of you—like Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, or wedding gifts.

I am talking about things you do—just because you want to—whether they cost money…or time…or effort…or imagination.

B. There are many ways to give. Money is obvious, but there are other ways to give.

Another way of giving is to give time—the time it takes to listen. If you’re lonely, to have someone spend time with you can be a welcome gift.

Kind words are another way to give. Words of encouragement, or forgiveness, compliments, or words that show you care. Have you ever given a compliment and had the person say, “Thanks, I needed that”? Or, “You’ve made my day”? I have.

Here is a story you can relate to. I found it in an Upper Room devotional booklet, from February 27, 2013. The writer is Charles Axe. Mr. Axe was a convict.

He tells how he was brought to the doctor’s office and was sitting there in his orange prison jump suit, and handcuffed to his two armed guards.

The officers had brought him there because he had just experienced a heart attack.

He understood the reactions of the other patients as they looked him over—the glancing looks, their keeping their distance, their silence.

Here is his account of what happened next:

“An elderly woman walked in, smiled, and said, ‘God bless you. I hope you are doing well.’”

“I replied, ‘I’m fine.’ “Suddenly, my anxious feelings were replaced with calm. ‘Thank you,’ I added.

“Afterwards in the van heading back to the prison, I thought how that one person looked beyond the outward signs of what most consider a second-class citizen and saw a person—a person who, though surely one of God’s own people, was in many ways estranged from the human family. Maybe it was simply that she saw an opportunity to do good.”

Then Mr. Axe writes this,

“The apostle Paul reminds us that as Christians we are called to show consideration and care for others, particularly for those in need and “of low position. While such actions may not always come naturally, that special effort can make a significant and lasting impression on people’s lives. It did for me.”

Never underestimate the importance of a kind word.

Never underestimate the importance of a welcoming smile.

Help is a good gift. That is why so many people get pleasure out of volunteering.

One of our residents has a granddaughter who spent many weeks at St. Luke’s Hospital. Since he was at the hospital so much, he began to volunteer. Now, many years later, his granddaughter is in high school. But our friend still goes to the hospital to work for free as a volunteer every Friday.

I have a friend who goes to the waiting room of the cancer clinic every week to welcome and help the people as they wait for their treatments.

At one time this friend belonged to a group who volunteered to sit with dying patients in shifts, to make sure that no one of them would die alone.

I read a story about a person who was engaged in this kind of hospice ministry. The man he was sitting with slept most of the time, and the volunteer began to wonder whether what he was doing was really worthwhile. One day as he was sitting there, wondering whether he should leave, his patient opened his eyes and said, “I love it when you are here. It’s just so peaceful.”

And the volunteer knew that his time had been well spent.

For a time I used to volunteer at the Mission of Hope, a mission on First Avenue that serves lunch to needy folks, operates a food pantry, and conducts Bible studies and also church services.

I was impressed by the faithfulness of the volunteers who came every day to work for free to help those in need.

In Romans 12 the apostle writes, “Love one another with brotherly and sisterly love. Outdo one another in showing honor” (v10).

Some gifts don’t cost much, but they require imagination. One day we came out of church and went to get into the car, and there on the seat was a beautiful pie. We never learned who had honored us with the pie. We had no one to thank. It made us want to be especially nice to everyone.

C. The verse I read speaks of the blessedness of giving. It’s not only better to give than to get but it brings more happiness.

“Blessed” is really just a stronger word for “happy.” Someone said that “blessedness is happiness with God at the core.

Psychologists have done experiments that reveal that giving stimulates pleasure centers in the brain.

This is one reason why, psychologists say, that most of us find more pleasure in giving than in receiving.

I suspect that as you look back on what were the most satisfying experiences of your life, they may have been times when you gave a gift that cost you something.

A Christian businessman had made a lot of money and then lost it all. Someone said to him, “If you hadn’t given so much away, you’d still be a rich man.”

He answered, “What I gave away was all I kept.”

This is what Jesus meant when he spoke of laying up treasure in heaven.

This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Luke 6:38).

A NOTE AT THE END

But I want to add; most of us are better at giving than we are at receiving.

We must be willing to receive as well as give—because when we receive we let others be blessed.

I think with regret times when I was unwilling to accept gifts from others because I was embarrassed at their extravagance. I see now that was wrong.

So when someone offers to do a favor for you, don’t be embarrassed or wonder how you can repay her. Receive the gift gratefully. And if you feel indebted—just pass it on by doing someone else a favor.

That’s the best way to repay a favor—pass it on. If everyone would do that, earth would be like heaven.