One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
One the many lessons that we learn when following the lives of celebrities is their capacity to self destruct surrounded by great wealth warping their sense of invulnerability.
At the risk of appearing cynical I have long understood that happiness is not available for sale at my local farmer's market there being an awareness that even the down to earth farming community is facing the same reality confronting the rest of the human race...we must grow our own happiness...harvesting the rewards out of our participation in the lives of our fellow traveller when sharing our abundance with those who lack.
A bountiful harvest necessitates a daily investment of our time, and effort without seeking an immediate return on our investment, there being a growing awareness that expecting gratitude is not the goal that propels us to assist those who enter our life.
As a topical idiom “there’s nothing new under the sun” is regularly quoted as a cynical complaint encountering life’s daily monotonous routines. When the wise Solomon wrote these words he was highlighting the cyclical nature of human life, and possibly the apparent futility of pursuing success as it is understood through the acquisition of "stuff" offering the consumer short term delight.
I am not ignoring the advances that human life has achieved in the sciences, medicine, and the general improvement of living conditions for most human beings over the past one hundred years...nevertheless despite the progress that has been made each of us continues to face a daily struggle coping with frustration in spite of all the efforts that we make to cultivate contentment.
Everything that we acquire remains a loan that we can repay today, when sharing with those who lack all that we have been given to share.
2 Corinthians 9
God Loves a Cheerful Giver
…7Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”…
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