Giving

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day has dawned in the great state of Illinois! :)

Whew! What a last 36 hours it has been! In the last 36 hours the Haslam crew has taken 2 trips, driven more than 10 hours and been in the states of Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois! I am sitting in the lobby of a hotel as I type this Happy Friday! We are just outside of St. Louis and are here to move Payton into his apartment so he is prepared to begin his graduate assistantship on Thursday! A wonderful, crazy, beautiful journey! :)

Last Saturday we went to see the new Lion King. I love that movie! There are so many great life lessons in it! There was one quick line - I don't remember it from the first Lion King - and it shook my spirit.

There is a scene where King Mufasa is speaking with his son, Simba, and teaching him what it means to be a king. Simba is excited about ruling over everyone and everything...sound familiar? And then King Mufasa says, "There's more to being a king than getting your way all the time." He goes on to say something like, "Everyone is worried about what they can get all the time, but kings give." I am sorry I cannot find the exact quote. As I stated, I don't recall it from the first Lion King and when I went looking for the script from this Lion King, I couldn't find it. Guess I need to go to the movie again!!! :) Regardless, you get the point.

That last part, about kings giving, really stuck with me. We clearly live in a get, as opposed to give, society. What would our world look like if we all focused more on what we can give instead of what we can get?

There are three things each one of us can give - time, talent & treasure. Of these three, what is the most valuable? Oh, how we love our money and our material possessions. Most believe this is the most valuable thing we possess - our money - and many are willing to beg, borrow, cheat and/or steal to get it! And yes, some are willing to sacrifice relationships and health to earn it. Please Friends, think about it. Think about the number of problems, challenges and issues that exist because of the begging, borrowing, cheating and stealing of money, of the countless broken lives littered along the trail of more money, more possessions, more stuff...it is mind blowing! And yet money is replaceable. But there is one thing, our time, which is irreplaceable. When we give of our time we are giving of our most precious resource because we will never get it back. With this, we would be wise to choose how we utilize our time, we need to be grateful when anyone gives us theirs and we need to honor one anothers.

I want to challenge each one of us to focus on what we can give as opposed to what we can get. The key to giving of anything is to give to what moves your heart. We all have different passions, just as we all have different amounts of time, different talents and different amounts of money. It is not about comparing the size of your gift to the size of anothers, it is about giving to what is most meaningful to you in whatever measure you feel you should give. Trust me on this one, your spirit will lead you! All you and I have to do is be willing to give, the rest will take care of itself.

So, whatever your time, talent or treasure, please use it this week to bless another in accordance with what stirs your soul. There is something you are passionate about...we are all passionate about something! Don't worry that you are not enough, that you don't have enough or that your gift will not make a difference. These are all lies perpetuated by the great deceiver who comes to kill, steal and destroy. You are more than enough, you have exactly what someone needs and a gift of any amount has the potential to make a significant difference in the life of another. Yes, you are that powerful!

I want to wrap this up by sharing a couple of scriptures and quotes with you.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2 Corinthians 9:7

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. - Proverbs 11:25

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

"There is no higher calling than service to your fellow man, and to do so through your own personal mastery of a craft is a gift enjoyed by few. Cultivate this gift, and give it away." - Chris Matakas

"It's not the depth of your intellect that will comfort you or transform your world. Only the richness of your heart and your generosity of spirit can do that." - Rasheed Ogunlaru

"Yes, of course we could all use some help. There isn't a person alive without a need. So don't ask the silly question, just figure out how you're going to help and do it!" - Richelle E. Goodrich

"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver." - Maya Angelou

"Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege." - John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

"Your greatness is not what you have, but what you give." - Unknown

There is a scene in Lion King where King Mufasa and Simba are looking up at the stars. King Mufasa tells Simba that the great kings of the past are up there looking over us. I now know of two great kings, one very, very real and one not so much, who have told me that kings give. Both demonstrated it in unmeasurable ways. I pray we would have the wisdom, strength, courage and grace to follow them!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families!

Kev