“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” — Maya Angelou

You can teach kids to share, but they usually don’t need much help in learning to be selfish. I didn’t have to teach my young kids the words, “No, that’s mine!,” and yet they somehow became adept at using it.

It’s easy to see this in children, but this tendency towards selfishness doesn’t stop once you grow up. We may be able to conceal it better, but the temptation isn’t usually that far away.

In being selfish, though, we’re actually doing ourselves a disservice. We think the more we keep, the happier we’ll be. But in failing to give of what we have, we miss the even greater joy that comes from giving.

Why throw things back?

Our lives are a gift

Giving provides an opportunity to live out the reality that much of what we have is itself a gift. Our family of origin, the nation and time period into which we were born, our mental and physical abilities — there are many things that we had no say in, and yet have impacted us in profound ways. We can forget this, though, and cling to everything we have as though it’s all because of us. But once we realize how much we’ve been given, it’s easier to loosen our grip. And giving back is one of the  way this change in perspective plays itself out.

It defines our legacy

“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.” — Arthur Ashe

The lives we look back on in admiration are the ones that contributed to the lives of others. The great men and women of history — whether they were famous of not — were the ones who gave of themselves, their skills, and their resources, for the betterment of others.

The same is true of us. When we’re gone, people will remember our lives primarily through what we did for others. Were we of service to others, or did we only care about ourselves. Did we use our skills to help, or were we solely focused on accumulating more for our own consumption?

**It creates a sense of joy **

As Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” And although it may seem counter-intuitive, there is something about giving that surpasses receiving. Don’t get me wrong. Receiving is great. But if that’s all we do, we’re missing out on one of the greatest joys of life.

Throw it Back

So the question is, what have you have received? What have you been given?

Once we see what we’ve been given, we’re left with the decision of whether we’ll throw some of it back. Will we take off the catcher’s mitt, and start throwing some of what we’ve received back to the world around us?

Because when we do, not only will other receive the benefits of our gifts, but we’ll also experience the benefits that come from being a giver.