Tony Williamson

"Give, and you will receive, your gift will return to you in full - pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over and poured back into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back." - The Holy Bible, NLT

Everything that is living is giving. The sun gives its light, the birds give their song, the flowers give their nectar, the dog gives its unconditional love. The only thing that does not give is something that is dead. Giving is one of the pivotal features of a living thing. If everything that is living is giving, then if you are not giving, you know your problem.

I have engaged myself over the last 40 years in a study of successful and wealthy men and women. I can tell you with unshakeable certainty that wealthy people have certain common features that set them apart from the crowd. They are big dreamers. They are goal-oriented. They use failure as an opportunity to begin again more intelligently. They take responsibility for their actions - they don't blame others. But one particular interesting commonality is that, with few exceptions, they are generous givers. And the more they give, the more they seem to receive.

There are many immutable laws that govern our time-space world. Sir Isaac Newton defined some laws of physics. One of these said, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." This law functions with, for example, a jet plane. The jet blast backwards propels the aircraft forwards. This law has also a spiritual, indefinable truth about it. The Bible says, "Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap." The law of giving falls into this truthful, though almost inexplicable quality, "give and you will receive". The laws of the universe come together to ensure that a giver always receives.

On the other hand, meanness and stinginess is a soul-shrivelling attitude. The saddest spectacle on earth is that of a mean man. His bank account may be large, but his soul is small, pitiful and bankrupt.

HOW, WHEN AND WHAT TO GIVE

One of the discoveries I have made about generous givers who are now wealthy is that they were givers before they became wealthy. These people did not wait until wealth came their way in order to give. They gave to others sacrificially, and wealth came. They then continued to give.

One of the world's richest men is Bill Gates. He is also one of the world's biggest givers. Jamaica's billionaire Michael Lee Chin is known for his incredible gen-erosity. These people will become richer and richer as they give more and more away, because "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction".

You do not have to give cash. You can give of your time in community service; you can teach a literacy class; mentor a young person or give freely of the blessings which you have received. This is giving. You can also give financially - to the poor, the oppressed, the hungry. You could pay for someone's books, school fees or hospital bill.

Although you will receive as you give, your motive in giving should be love of your fellowman - not giving to receive. You will receive anyway, but love must drive your giving.

THE DEAD SEA

Some years ago I was in Israel and visited the Dead Sea. There is no life in this sea. It is briny and salty in the extreme. But not far from the Dead Sea was the Sea of Galilee, alive and full of fish and living creatures. Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea have one thing in common. They are both recipients of water from the River Jordan. But there is one big difference: The Sea of Galilee receives water from the Jordan in the north and lets out the same water in the south. It receives on one side and gives back on the other side.

The Dead Sea receives the same water, but has no outlet for it. It receives but does not give.

Based on these observations, I have formed the opinion, "You keep what you give; you lose what you hoard." You cannot take it with you when you die, but it lives on in the life of your survivors.