Revision: Not Better To Give Than To Receive

To give is the very best way to receive, and to receive, the best way to give. 

This ties in with true humility -to recognize honestly our gifts, and our weaknesses, and their benefit or injury to others.  By openly embracing both our gifts and faults we are free to take responsibility for our own self-worth and our positive or negative impact on others.  This ties in with treating all people as brothers or sisters, including yourself, to rightly orient and guide your approach, thoughts, dialogue and actions.  This approach builds healthy relationships for yourself and keeps in mind the best interest and well-being of the other, which is ALWAYS win/win. 

This is difficult because it challenges our immediate disposition to gain goodness for ourselves at all costs, which is an unsustainable way to build relationships and a waste of our gifts. Gift are given to us and benefit us when we use them for the benefit of others.  We need God's Spirit, which is the voice, the light, and the spirit, given within us.  We are God's Body and voice on Earth.  Acknowledging and sharing this Spirit in turn is what affirms our own belonging and purpose.  This is the hard lesson of the Church, so that we turn away from the fear-based isolation and stagnation of the world, and instead turn toward selfless, abundant, wild, spirited, delightful life.

Evil is that which convinces us that we have no gifts.  It is the lie that we embrace when we keep our light to ourselves because we believe it is of no help to others.  It is the shame inherent in the way we deprive others from God's Love within us.  The good news is that the very core within us that we are so scared of exposing is the very core that provides the most joy and is most deeply craved by others.  It is the courage of sharing in deep trust, the abandon in a baby's smile and the relief in our final breath.  It is belonging and uninhibited gratitude, and it is always here, only distractions convince us otherwise.  The solution is the practiced, maintained focus of our thoughts on Him who Is.