Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.  Hebrews 13:16  ESV

Give and it will be given to you.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.  For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.  Luke 6:38  ESV

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?  1 John 3:17  ESV

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed.  Proverbs 19:17  ESV

Ok, so you get it ,right?  Nowhere in the bible does it say for us to be stingy and not help others.  So why do we do it?  Now before you go getting all defensive on me, I said, “we”.  I try my best to help others but I know that there are times when I fall short.  There are times when I have all kinds of excuses.  I am too busy is one of my personal favorites.  I am very busy, you know.  I can’t afford it right now is another good one that I have used.  This is just bad timing for me is another.  The list goes on and on.  But I have noticed something.  The more that I cater to myself and my needs, the worse things get for me.  Focusing on me, eventually will have me anxious and depressed.  But when I concentrate on helping others it has this healing effect on me.  Amazing how that works, right?

See we were made to serve God and others.  We were made to put God first, others second and ourselves last.  So things get really out of whack when we reverse that.  Now the devil will tell us that we don’t have the time or we don’t have the money.  He can fill our heads with a lot of really good excuses, but the bottom line is that we can’t afford to not help others.

When I am counseling someone who is really down and going through a hard time, I want to get them to a point to where they can help others.  This may not happen immediately, but once you can get them to a point to where they want to get out and help others, it is better than any anti-depressant ever prescribed.  We are watching selfishness play out in the extreme form today with our government officials.  From the local to the national levels, people are only concerned with getting their own way while filling their pockets.  We see our politicians behaving more like spoiled six year olds than grown adults.  We have spent almost a month now in a government shut down.  If this continues, it could effect services for our veterans, our elderly, our indigent, and the list goes on.  What I am trying to say is that we have opportunities all around us to help others.  When we help others, God blesses us, it’s just that simple.  He takes good care of us when we take care of others.  We are told in Hebrews 13:2 not to neglect showing hospitality to others, for by doing so some have welcomed angels as guests without even knowing it.

One thing I have noticed, when I think things aren’t going so well for me, I have a choice.  I can sink lower into my pit of self pity or I can help someone and realize that many people are way worse off than I am.  So, think about helping someone else.  It truly is better to give than to receive and we can’t outgive God.  Our scripture passage above, from Luke, tells us that when we help others and give to them that God will give to us more than we can hold.

So, today, if you are living a me, me, me existence as I did for many years, know that you will be much happier living for God and helping others.  You will find that your wants and needs are not nearly as important as those that are truly suffering.  You will find that your depression can be cured by reaching out to others in need.  Now if you are thinking that you don’t know of anyone that needs help, then take the blinders off my friend.  This just means that you have not been paying attention.  They are all around us, won’t you reach out to someone today.  If you don’t have a lot of time, you can support a local mission financially and through prayer.  If you don’t have a lot of money, you can donate your time.  We all have something to give and the blessing we will receive will be far greater than the effort we will exert.  Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself.

Have a great day!