Reflexive Giving at Work
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Reflexive Giving at Work
Reflexive Giving at Work
Reflexive Giving at Work
It does not matter what you give if you don’t give for the right reasons. There are givers and there are takers. True givers give of their time, talent, and treasure unconsciously, reflexively, and continually. They seem to never run out!
It does not matter what you give if you don’t give for the right reasons.
There are givers and there are takers.
True givers give of their time, talent, and treasure unconsciously, reflexively, and continually. They seem to never run out!
Some takers pose as givers, but they are really giving to get. Those who give to get may receive what they are trying to achieve temporarily, but they risk losing a much greater reward.
Adam Grant in his book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success argues that success is determined not just by talent or hard work, but by how we interact with others, categorizing people as givers, takers, or matchers.
“Takers, who are always trying to serve themselves; matchers, who are always trying to get equal benefit for themselves and others; and givers, who are always trying to help people. Givers, who often succeed most, focus on contributing without strings, while matchers protect against takers.” - Adam Grant
What Do You Seek?
What are you seeking as a reward when you give and when do you want to receive your reward?
In giving, we often start with “what to give” and this can lead to focusing on self and trade offs for what we give.
If we instead start with “why to give” and then focus on “how to give” we will have the right motivations and methods to make what to give become abundantly clear.
In Jesus’s life-defining Sermon on the Mount, He explains the abundant blessings of the kingdom. Jesus invites us to join in the kingdom He is building now on earth as it is in heaven.
He invites us to give all of our lives, all of our assets, all of our relationships, and all of our work to the purpose of building the kingdom. His invitation forms our motivation for everything we do. Here is specifically what He says about giving:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." - [.no-reftag]Matthew 6:1[.no-reftag]
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - [.no-reftag]Matthew 6:2-4[.no-reftag]
Why to Give
Jesus tells us not to give credit to build our own account. Don’t give to get good standing, praise, or any type of recognition — this is just another form of selfishness. Instead we should give because everything we have is His anyway and the highest and best use for everything is for His kingdom purposes (Romans 11:36).
We are stewards of everything we have been given (Genesis 1:26-28 & Luke 19:11-27). We are friends of the King, (John 15:14-15) coheirs (Romans 8:17) who know and have been given a kingdom to build.
How to Give
Jesus is saying give as a reflex to the grace, mercy, and love you have received from God (Romans 12:1) and the work you have been given to do (Ephesians 2:8-10). Give unconsciously based on all you have been given. Give from your abundance — you lack nothing (Psalm 23:1). Give all you have (Mark 12:41-42).
Jesus calls each of us to give strategically based on where we see the biggest kingdom return on investment — KROI!
Strategic giving is different for each of us because we have different knowledge, different gifts, and different relationships.
Take time to discern what will be most beneficial (2 Timothy 2:2) in kingdom building. God has built us wonderfully (Psalm 139:13-14) and equipped each of us uniquely (1 Corinthians 12) and therefore our methods of giving will be unique to us and our walk with Jesus.
What to Give
Give everything you have been given. Everything? Yes, Everything!
Everything we have is God’s anyway (Psalm 24:1). We are just kidding ourselves — or worse — if we think it's ours. If we have our hearts in the right place our “why” becomes clear. If we know why we were made — our life purpose — our strategic “how” becomes clear.
When we take inventory of our time, talents, and treasure it becomes clear where we got them. Our responsibility is to put all we have towards building the kingdom.
Time is likely your biggest resource. Consider putting your talents and treasure to use where you already missionally spend your time. If you spend 40-50 hours a week at work, this may be the place where you need to surrender more of your gifts for God’s kingdom — instead of building your own kingdom.
There are great benefits to putting more of our gifts to use where we have already committed our time.
You might ask,” How can one know what a kingdom building activity is?” Start by asking, “Jesus, how can you best use my gifts at this moment to help my coworker, friend, or family member know you better?”
If we ask this question about each of our moments, each of our gifts, each of our assets with the glory of God at the center of the equation — we will be kingdom builders!
Resources:
Article: Rewarding Work! | Howard Graham
Video: The Blessing and Calling of the Beatitudes | Howard Graham
Video: The Way to Rewards at Work | Howard Graham
Video: Are You a Giver or a Taker? | Adam Grant
Video: This Lie Can Keep You From Living Generously | Bible Project
It does not matter what you give if you don’t give for the right reasons.
There are givers and there are takers.
True givers give of their time, talent, and treasure unconsciously, reflexively, and continually. They seem to never run out!
Some takers pose as givers, but they are really giving to get. Those who give to get may receive what they are trying to achieve temporarily, but they risk losing a much greater reward.
Adam Grant in his book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success argues that success is determined not just by talent or hard work, but by how we interact with others, categorizing people as givers, takers, or matchers.
“Takers, who are always trying to serve themselves; matchers, who are always trying to get equal benefit for themselves and others; and givers, who are always trying to help people. Givers, who often succeed most, focus on contributing without strings, while matchers protect against takers.” - Adam Grant
What Do You Seek?
What are you seeking as a reward when you give and when do you want to receive your reward?
In giving, we often start with “what to give” and this can lead to focusing on self and trade offs for what we give.
If we instead start with “why to give” and then focus on “how to give” we will have the right motivations and methods to make what to give become abundantly clear.
In Jesus’s life-defining Sermon on the Mount, He explains the abundant blessings of the kingdom. Jesus invites us to join in the kingdom He is building now on earth as it is in heaven.
He invites us to give all of our lives, all of our assets, all of our relationships, and all of our work to the purpose of building the kingdom. His invitation forms our motivation for everything we do. Here is specifically what He says about giving:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." - [.no-reftag]Matthew 6:1[.no-reftag]
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - [.no-reftag]Matthew 6:2-4[.no-reftag]
Why to Give
Jesus tells us not to give credit to build our own account. Don’t give to get good standing, praise, or any type of recognition — this is just another form of selfishness. Instead we should give because everything we have is His anyway and the highest and best use for everything is for His kingdom purposes (Romans 11:36).
We are stewards of everything we have been given (Genesis 1:26-28 & Luke 19:11-27). We are friends of the King, (John 15:14-15) coheirs (Romans 8:17) who know and have been given a kingdom to build.
How to Give
Jesus is saying give as a reflex to the grace, mercy, and love you have received from God (Romans 12:1) and the work you have been given to do (Ephesians 2:8-10). Give unconsciously based on all you have been given. Give from your abundance — you lack nothing (Psalm 23:1). Give all you have (Mark 12:41-42).
Jesus calls each of us to give strategically based on where we see the biggest kingdom return on investment — KROI!
Strategic giving is different for each of us because we have different knowledge, different gifts, and different relationships.
Take time to discern what will be most beneficial (2 Timothy 2:2) in kingdom building. God has built us wonderfully (Psalm 139:13-14) and equipped each of us uniquely (1 Corinthians 12) and therefore our methods of giving will be unique to us and our walk with Jesus.
What to Give
Give everything you have been given. Everything? Yes, Everything!
Everything we have is God’s anyway (Psalm 24:1). We are just kidding ourselves — or worse — if we think it's ours. If we have our hearts in the right place our “why” becomes clear. If we know why we were made — our life purpose — our strategic “how” becomes clear.
When we take inventory of our time, talents, and treasure it becomes clear where we got them. Our responsibility is to put all we have towards building the kingdom.
Time is likely your biggest resource. Consider putting your talents and treasure to use where you already missionally spend your time. If you spend 40-50 hours a week at work, this may be the place where you need to surrender more of your gifts for God’s kingdom — instead of building your own kingdom.
There are great benefits to putting more of our gifts to use where we have already committed our time.
You might ask,” How can one know what a kingdom building activity is?” Start by asking, “Jesus, how can you best use my gifts at this moment to help my coworker, friend, or family member know you better?”
If we ask this question about each of our moments, each of our gifts, each of our assets with the glory of God at the center of the equation — we will be kingdom builders!
Resources:
Article: Rewarding Work! | Howard Graham
Video: The Blessing and Calling of the Beatitudes | Howard Graham
Video: The Way to Rewards at Work | Howard Graham
Video: Are You a Giver or a Taker? | Adam Grant
Video: This Lie Can Keep You From Living Generously | Bible Project