"And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to
receive.'" (Acts 20:35)
Many years ago, William Sydney Porter (1862-1910) wrote a short story regarding a young
couple who loved each other immensely. They lived in New York City in the late 1800's, and they
were very poor. Each wanted very deeply to give a wonderful gift to the other; but, they had no
money. Consequently, the young man went and sold his only valuable possession, his gold watch,
to buy a beautiful barrette for his wife's gorgeous long hair. The young man was shocked when on
Christmas morning he discovered that his wife had cut her beautiful long hair, and sold it, in order
to buy a gold chain for his watch.
The moral of the story, of course, is that what is given is not nearly as important as the motivation behind the giving. The important thing is our inward sincerity in wanting to give rather than desiring to receive.