British Scripture Scholar, J. B. Phillips put it this way: “Give as you’ve received, without any charge whatsoever.” In the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 10:8), Jesus is sending out the Twelve on their first solo mission. He gives them some instructions, including this reminder.
How quickly we forget. Religion has sadly, and too frequently become associated with money – large quantities of it. From the selling of indulgences and high offices, to the mega-churches preaching the “prosperity gospel,” we have fallen again and again into the money-power connection. Those with much money have the ear of those at the top. Those with less means can wait their turn in the outer chamber.
Perhaps if church leaders in every age had been rooted in the Gospel that Jesus proclaimed, and had listened to the prophetic voices around them, we would not have the painful divisions among us. This scandal of disunity greatly hinders people from other religions to take Christianity seriously. We have been given a rich and beautiful message to share, but the witness of our lives too often doesn’t match. We need to walk the walk, not just say the right words.
This saying about receiving and giving first struck me back in the late 1960s. Our whole faith is rooted in Jesus, who is the epitome of grace – free gift of God. If we think about it we can probably see that all that we are and have has been given to us, directly or indirectly. If we are able to do anything, others have given us life, raised us, taught us, trained us, guided us, etc. If we have anything, or have become anything, we may have cooperated with the gifts given us, but they are still gifts. We are not to claim them or hoard them, as if they were our possessions.
The invitation is to give freely, without charge. Certainly we wouldn’t think of making our family members or friends or others pay for what we share with them. But we can put a price on our gifts – not money of course. We have a tendency to attach an emotional or psychological toll to our giving. People who know us well have come to realize that if they accept our offer of help, it will cost them. If we have this tendency, it would be more honest just to ask for money.
The gift-tax we charge might be expected praise from the receiver, or a certain action or behavior, or a feeling of inferiority and indebtedness in them or favors in return. It is no surprise if they avoid asking us for anything else. Jesus points us to the boundless generosity of the Supreme Giver. God gives all freely, expecting nothing in return, and invites us to follow suit as best we can. We have received so much!
Pedro Cardoso says:
I always read this passage focusing on the money people give/take, but I confess that I never considered deeply the concept of expecting a non-monetary price for my gifts. I will do my best to avoid this. Hopefully this will be easier, now that this effort is more conscious.
Thank you very much for sharing this thought!
Jana Buckley says:
It does seem that we do expect ‘something’ in return for whatever ‘gift’, even if but a ‘thank you’ or expecting a word of praise. This does seem to be a subliminal message going on in our own heads. It is a battle of our human nature, though we should not give up the fight to try and follow God’s example.