Giving and Happiness

In case you missed it, a new survey has shown that there is an undeniable connection between giving and happiness. Of course, that is no surprise for many of you who already give of your time and talent in love and thankfulness to your Lord and His Church. Your Lord Himself has said, “Blessed are the merciful” (Matthew 5:7). The word “blessed” means “happy.”
So now that the secular authorities have picked up on this connection, one has to ask, “What has taken them so long?”
Dr. Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkley, explained at the university’s commencement just this past May:
“When asked in surveys, most Americans believe that spending money on personal desires brings greater satisfaction than giving it away. But, when participants actually were given the chance to do that, to spend $20 on themselves or give it away, it was the act of generosity that led to greater happiness. To care is good.” (Dr. Dacher Keltner, commencement address at UC Berkeley on May 14, 2012).
“To care is good.” That quote is simply a reworking of what we already know. It affirms what we confess and sing in E. S. Alderson’s hymn, Lord of Glory, Who Hast Bought Us: “That more happy and more blessed ‘Tis to give than to receive” (ELH 459:2).
At times, we may give out of guilt, fearing that we may be punished if we do not give. Sometimes we might think of our giving to our church as “dues,” as if we were members of a club. Other times, our motive may be to make sure that we don’t give it to someone or something else. Sometimes our giving can be motivated by pity and then we narrowly look only at gaining that “happy feeling” rather than considering the wider picture of “Am I really helping them in the long run with my charity?”
Not all of these thoughts are in themselves wrong to consider as responsible stewards of our Lord’s gifts. The exception would be if we think that our giving in some way gains for us God’s favor and, ultimately, a place in heaven. Such a motive would place our salvation on very shaky ground indeed. For it would deny God the glory and would cast aside the main Bible teaching that we are saved by grace alone through faith in Christ Jesus. Isaiah warned us of this possibility when he wrote by inspiration, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
Granted, our motives for giving are not always pure. Yet our best motive for giving is most soundly based in a heart that gives in love for the One who first loved us (1 John 4:19). The only way we are brought before our Lord as cleansed and spotless servants is when we approach God’s throne of grace with nothing other than the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ given us by the cleansing of the holy blood of God’s only-begotten Son in Baptism. He alone is our High Priest who has gone before the throne and offered Himself as the all-sufficient sacrifice that paid the penalty of our sin, including our sinful motives for what we do in life. But since our Lord has accomplished this full redemption we can now take the words of Hebrews to heart: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
As we give gladly of what we have out of love for our Lord, whether through our acts of mercy or in support of the Gospel, we also have a profound mystery to consider as we show mercy to those in need. Our Lord Himself has revealed this profound truth and it is described in the words of Alderson’s hymn:
Wondrous honor hast Thou given
To our humblest charity.
In Thine own mysterious sentence,
“Ye have done it unto Me”
(ELH 459:3)
As we view and witness the profound sorrow and suffering that are all around us in the world, we will never lack the opportunity to help. Yet we note that the greatest suffering of all is to be lost to heaven. Simply put, that makes the sharing of the message of salvation in Christ the most merciful, charitable, and loving act of all.
As we learn from the Word of God, it is a profound confession to say that all our time, talent, and earthly treasures are gifts from God. In our worship of God—including our worship in tithes and offerings—we show our trust and love for our Lord and His divine provid-(e)-nce. It is trust in our Lord that enables us to give a portion of our Lord’s gifts back to Him and to His church. Yet it is also with a smile and a feeling of joy, that we recall our Lord’s words: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40, emphasis added).
Again, how might we do this? Alderson’s hymn shows us that we do this through our “gifts and offerings.”
As we have learned from both our study of God’s Word and through our experience, there is indeed a flip side to the coin of Christian giving. It is the joy we share in seeing suffering relieved. It is the joy we share with the angels in seeing yet another sinner repent. It is a joy we share in knowing that as each sinner repents we gain a Christian brother or sister for eternity.
Thus our prayer through the words of our hymn writer can be:
Give us faith to trust Thee boldly,
Hope to stay our souls on Thee;
But, O best of all Thy graces,
Give us Thine own charity.
(ELH 459:5)
Daniel Basel is the ELS Giving Counselor and lives in Mankato, Minnesota.