{"id":14868,"date":"2026-06-22T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=14868"},"modified":"2026-04-24T08:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:37:40","slug":"joy-in-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/joy-in-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"Joy in Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/June-22nd-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14869\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/June-22nd-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/June-22nd-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/June-22nd-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/June-22nd.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a giver, nothing makes me happier than to give. My favorite spontaneous moment happened a few years ago when I met a friend for lunch at a cafeteria-style restaurant. A young military couple behind me in line caught my attention, and I felt the prompting to pay for their lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe just got married!\u201d The beaming bride held up her ring finger as she spoke, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Unbeknownst to me, but not God, I got to treat them to lunch on their first full day of wedded bliss. My heart swelled as the Lord blessed me more than them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we give to others, we should do so from the heart, with no expectations of anything in return. Jesus gave without strings attached, and so should we. Checking our heart posture helps us determine whether we should give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">True generosity doesn\u2019t come from impulsive guilt or forced obligation, but from a thoughtful and willing place. We give in response to what God has given us, letting His blessings flow to those around us. The more we grasp the gift Jesus gave us on the cross, the more we will want to share it with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Lord doesn\u2019t want us to give because we feel pressured, because it misses the point. When our giving doesn\u2019t align with the heart, we have the wrong motives. And we will not get the response we expect. Giving with the thought of getting leads to disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But how God loves a cheerful giver, joyfully and willingly sharing their blessings with a sense of gladness, not loss. Giving from the heart says, \u201cI\u2019m grateful I get to do this.\u201d Just like I felt when I bought the newlyweds a meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our Father values the heart, not just the gift. We should give willingly, not because we feel pressured. Joy comes from heartfelt generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Reflection:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>When you give\u2014whether time, help, or resources\u2014does it come from pressure or from joy?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Joy Thought:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Heartfelt generosity breeds joy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two-minute read. As a giver, nothing makes me happier than to give. My favorite spontaneous moment happened a few years ago when I met a friend for lunch at a cafeteria-style restaurant. A young military couple behind me in line caught my attention, and I felt the prompting to pay for their lunch. \u201cWe just&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/joy-in-giving\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Joy in Giving<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14868"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14871,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14868\/revisions\/14871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}