For the most part, there are two types of people in this world, givers and takers. Everyone falls somewhere on what I call the “giver and taker scale.” Usually people operate out of their perspective on life, takers have been “taken from” and givers have been “given to.” The fact is that we’ve all been “taken from” and “given to.” However, if you are a taker, you operate out of your woundedness; if you are a giver, you operate out of your healing and understand the value of what you have been given. In this Christmas season, let us use this time to reflect on who we are in our everyday lives. Reflect on how much you have been given in order to become more of a giver. A true giver gives without expecting anything in return.
Where you fall on this “scale of giving and taking” usually defines your leadership style. This week I received a letter and gift in the mail from someone I gave my time to over 8 years ago. Here’s an excerpt from the letter:
“I feel like God has poked my heart to express gratitude to those for whom it is due. God brought you to mind as someone who has expended effort and energy investing in me. Your leadership has had an impact on my heart and pursuit of the Lord. God had your mission play a part in mine.
Thank you – for your gifts of wisdom and time, brother. You’ve also been extremely generous with your relationships and resources.
Please accept this enclosed small token of gratitude (a coffee mug). I hope it is a useful addition to your kitchen and encourages you further, in a small way, that all the things God asks us to do in this life are a part of a bigger story.”
As a leader farmer, I give of my time, wisdom and resources without expecting anything in return from that particular person. However, I truly believe as I follow the promptings to plant seeds and invest in the lives of those that cross my path, it will be returned some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Leader Farming, the gift that keeps on giving!
