Loosen your Grip

By: John Carrigan

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: "it is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35

God's Word says to give is a blessing, but we were all born with a selfish tendency to tightly hold what we consider valuable. This verse from Acts reminds me of a discussion I had with my sons when they were young. They had just received a small cash gift from my parents, and they were excitedly discussing what to do with it. As we drove home from sports practice, they were hungry, and both of them knew we would pass by Burger King on our way home. They started pestering me to stop at Burger King, but I replied, "We have lunch at home. But if you really want fast food, you'll have to pay for it with the money your grandparents sent." They thought about it for a few seconds, then quickly decided they didn’t need Burger King after all.

It's very easy to spend someone else’s money, but when it’s "ours", we tend to think about it differently. We may even prioritize our resources like the world does. I’m still guilty of that sometimes, but when I became a Christ follower, my perspective began to slowly change. Instead of thinking "it's mine, and I earned it", I began to realize I only earned it because God allowed me to earn it.

Our selfish nature tells us to hold onto what we have, but the fact of the matter is, everything we have is a gift from God. If we don't see everything as God's, we usually only give out of our abundance. In scripture, there is a famous story about giving called "The widow's mite." In it, Jesus commends a poor widow who gave to God despite her poverty.

“this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:3-4

That is called sacrificial giving, and it only comes from a heart filled with gratitude towards God. Sacrificial love and sacrificial giving are impossible without the Holy Spirits' help. But after we meet Jesus, we learn how to let go of the things of this world, the things we want to hold tightly.

Remember, a tightly clenched fist (around our stuff) cannot easily receive the blessings God wants to hand us.