{"id":890,"date":"2017-07-23T19:13:30","date_gmt":"2017-07-23T19:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=890"},"modified":"2017-07-23T19:13:30","modified_gmt":"2017-07-23T19:13:30","slug":"giving-generously-receiving-gratefully","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html","title":{"rendered":"Giving Generously and Receiving Gratefully"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"woman<\/a><\/p>\n

Giving generously and receiving gratefully is a simple recipe for living happily with others. If everyone did those two things, we would live in a very peaceful world, indeed.\u00a0 Yet, why do we have such difficulty accomplishing that in our relationships?<\/p>\n

Let me start with the idea of giving generously. I think people are reluctant to be generous with others because they fear being used.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that happens to anyone who gives to others.<\/p>\n

My husband and I deal with this issue on occasion. We have certain family members who only contact us when they need money.\u00a0 We typically oblige their requests, and we rarely receive a thank you.\u00a0 Most people would say that under the circumstances, my husband and I are being used.\u00a0 I suppose we are.<\/p>\n

But when we give, we shouldn\u2019t be giving for the purpose of getting gratitude or praise from the recipient. Rather, we should be giving in service to God.\u00a0 A \u201cthank you\u201d from the recipient is merely icing on the cake.<\/p>\n

Everything that we have, from our ability to wake up each morning to the money in our bank accounts, is a gift from God. In return, God asks us to use these gifts in service to others, whether it be by helping others with our time or with our resources.\u00a0 So, when we give generously, we are doing so in obedience to Him.<\/p>\n

The good news is that when we live our lives in obedience to God, our lives run more smoothly. If you are generous, yes, some people will use you.\u00a0 And I can tell you that being used doesn\u2019t feel very good.\u00a0 But when I practice being generous, most of my relationships improve.\u00a0 People feel like they can rely on me to help them, and that makes them feel cared for.\u00a0 Moreover, it is empowering to be generous!\u00a0 It is a good feeling to know that you have the ability to meaningfully help another human being.<\/p>\n

The counterpart to giving generously is receiving gratefully. I truly believe that you cannot say \u201cthank you\u201d enough.\u00a0 So often we get lazy about expressing gratitude.\u00a0 In particular, if people do what is expected of them, we think that we don\u2019t need to thank them for their efforts.<\/p>\n

That is why husbands and wives sometimes feel unappreciated by their spouses. Similarly, parents can feel unappreciated by their children, and employees can feel unappreciated by their bosses.\u00a0 Just because a task is part of someone\u2019s job description, that doesn\u2019t mean that you shouldn\u2019t thank them for it.<\/p>\n

Gratitude is the oil that smooths our relationships. A simple \u201cthank you\u201d prevents someone from feeling used or unappreciated.\u00a0 And gratitude is a self-esteem booster for the recipient.\u00a0 Words of appreciation make others feel good about themselves like nothing else.<\/p>\n

For example, I cook quite a bit, and while I know when a meal has turned out well, it means so much when someone says \u201cthank you\u201d or compliments my efforts. The same holds true for when I play my flute in church.\u00a0 It helps to hear a small word of appreciation.\u00a0 In fact, a small word of thanks can make me feel great for days!<\/p>\n

Moreover, it is good for us to say \u201cthank you\u201d because we regularly need to remind ourselves of how very lucky we are. I thank my husband all the time.\u00a0 He constantly does little things to make my life better.\u00a0 By thanking him, I remind myself of how lucky I am.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for a secret solution to improve all your relationships today, I can give you one: Give generously and receive gratefully. I guarantee that if you start practicing that simple mantra, you will see a marked improvement in all your relationships.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n

My book, The Secrets to Success for the Working Mother<\/a>, is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback. \u00a0If you purchase a copy, please consider writing a review. \u00a0I would be delighted to hear your feedback!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Giving generously and receiving gratefully is a simple recipe for living happily with others. If everyone did those two things, we would live in a very peaceful world, indeed.\u00a0 Yet, why do we have such difficulty accomplishing that in our relationships? Let me start with the idea of giving generously. I think people are reluctant…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60,50],"class_list":["post-890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-giving","tag-gratitude"],"yoast_head":"\nGiving Generously and Receiving Gratefully - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Giving Generously and Receiving Gratefully - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Giving generously and receiving gratefully is a simple recipe for living happily with others. If everyone did those two things, we would live in a very peaceful world, indeed.\u00a0 Yet, why do we have such difficulty accomplishing that in our relationships? Let me start with the idea of giving generously. I think people are reluctant…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-23T19:13:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/07\/woman-with-tulips-A.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meerabelle Dey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Giving Generously and Receiving Gratefully - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Giving Generously and Receiving Gratefully - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","og_description":"Giving generously and receiving gratefully is a simple recipe for living happily with others. If everyone did those two things, we would live in a very peaceful world, indeed.\u00a0 Yet, why do we have such difficulty accomplishing that in our relationships? Let me start with the idea of giving generously. I think people are reluctant…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html","og_site_name":"Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","article_published_time":"2017-07-23T19:13:30+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/07\/woman-with-tulips-A.jpg"}],"author":"Meerabelle Dey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html","name":"Giving Generously and Receiving Gratefully - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/07\/woman-with-tulips-A.jpg","datePublished":"2017-07-23T19:13:30+00:00","dateModified":"2017-07-23T19:13:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/#\/schema\/person\/7250ab2fc75dd2e7e923fbec0fbb375c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/07\/woman-with-tulips-A.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/07\/woman-with-tulips-A.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/07\/giving-generously-receiving-gratefully.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Giving Generously and Receiving Gratefully"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/","name":"Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Meerabelle Dey","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/#\/schema\/person\/7250ab2fc75dd2e7e923fbec0fbb375c","name":"Meerabelle Dey","description":"Meerabelle Dey has a B.A. in History and Religious Studies from the University of Toronto and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Much of her legal career has been spent dealing with issues affecting women, children and the poor. She has lived in the United States, Canada and the Middle East. Meerabelle now devotes her time to writing. Her mission is to use her writing to inspire others to achieve God\u2019s unique purpose for their life.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/author\/mdey"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/593"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":893,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890\/revisions\/893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}