Giving back, moving forward

Every month my grandmother would fill a truck with rice, beans and cooking oil and deliver it to orphanages and widows. She also opened her home to people with nowhere to go, welcoming children and adults alike under her roof. Then one day she fell into a coma and was admitted to the intensive care unit, hovering on the edge of death. Everyone had lost hope, until suddenly she regained consciousness. To us, her recovery was God’s gracious answer to a life marked by generosity.

Giving has a way of transforming the giver. Studies show that helping others boosts joy and purpose, what psychologists call the ‘helper’s high’. But beyond science, we know it in our hearts: when we serve, we feel fulfilled, connected and more confident.

Her story reminds me of Dorcas, also known as Tabitha, in the book of Acts. She was ‘always doing good and helping the poor’. When she died, the widows she had clothed wept and showed Peter the garments she had made. Through prayer, God restored her, and her testimony inspired many to believe. Both Dorcas and my grandmother lived in such a way that their giving became a channel of God’s grace.

But what does it really mean to give back? It is not only about money. Giving back can be food, time, skills, encouragement or simply presence. It is using what God has entrusted to us, resources, talents, even homes, to bless others. Each act of generosity plants seeds that grow beyond our sight.

Giving has a way of transforming the giver. Studies show that helping others boosts joy and purpose, what psychologists call the ‘helper’s high’. But beyond science, we know it in our hearts: when we serve, we feel fulfilled, connected and more confident. Spiritually, generosity draws us closer to God because it reflects his own nature.

Jesus said in Luke 6:38: ‘Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.’ And in Malachi 3:10, the Lord invites us to test him in giving, promising to ‘throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’

The way I see it, giving is like lending God a loan with high interest: you give him one, and he returns a thousand. It may sound too good to be true, but God says, ‘Test me in this.’

For those who receive, generosity often restores hope and dignity. A parcel of food may carry a family through a hard week. A word of encouragement may revive someone’s spirit. A safe place to stay may set a young person on a new path. These gifts may seem ordinary, but they have the power to move lives forward.

Each act of generosity, no matter how small, plants a seed of hope that grows in both the giver and the receiver. When we give, we not only build faith but also stronger, more connected communities. Our small acts can move someone else forward.

As you reflect on this, I encourage you to give back, whether through your church, your community or to someone you meet along the way. It may be small, but it will not be insignificant. Because when we give back, we all move forward.