p. 675 | The Virtue of Giving

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Nov 11, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 43.

The Virtue of Giving.

The virtue of a gift is in the giving, and not in the gift. The less expectation we can have of a return, the more absolute the gift. The more absolute the gift, the better it is for the giver; for the less of self there is in it. If there is a just claim upon us, it is our duty to satisfy the claim, and not ourselves. If one feels it his duty to surrender his seat in the street-car, the degree of probability of his being thanked for it should not modify his willingness to make the surrender. If the claim be found on deference to sex, or to age, or to character, or to physical need, the claim must remain while the cause remains. Ingratitude, or moral obtuseness, however repulsive on the part of the recipient, does not, in itself, change the duty of the giver. The receiver is responsible for his moral attitude; the giver for his. The debt is to God, and to God it must be paid. We are to bear one another's burdens because of the burdens and not because we expect a return. This, in fact, is the only way to fulfill the law of Christ. Our greatest gratitude should be that God does not regulate his gifts to us by the measure of our gratitude to him. And as we have received, so ought we to give.—Sel.