"This," said Charles Lamb, "is the greatest pleasure I know." "Money never yet made a man happy," said Franklin; "and there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness." To do good with it, makes life a delight to the giver.

How happy, then, was the life of Jean Ingelow, since what she received from the sale of a hundred thousand copies of her poems, and fifty thousand of her prose works, she spent largely in charity; one unique charity being a "copyright" dinner three times a week to twelve poor persons just discharged from the neighboring hospitals! Nor was any one made happier by it than the poet.

Let the man who has the blues take a map and census table of the world, and estimate how many millions there are who would gladly exchange lots with him, and let him begin upon some practicable plan to do all the good he can to as many as he can, and he will forget to be despondent; and he need not stop short at praying for them without first giving every dollar he can, without troubling the Lord about that. Since money never made a man happy, let him scatter his flowers as he goes along, since he will never go over the same road again.

Is insecurity causing us to hold onto our money? Picture yourself in someone else's shoes. Do everything that you can to be a blessing to them. Try to find someone new every day to bless. Perhaps you can buy someone's lunch without them knowing you were the one who paid the bill. With the high price of gas, can you imagine the shivers of joy a struggling person will have when they receive a pre-paid gas card anonamously from you? How about hiding a bigger bill inside that dollar bill that you hand to the waitress regardless of the type of service you receive from her? We were not created to be selfish or to focus only on ourselves. Money alone can not make you happy. When you become a giver,you will soon have many blessings coming back to you.

If we were raised by a single parent who struggled to pay the bills, has that anxiety become the root of our reluctance to help others? We must dig up the root of that tree of fear and plant a tree that bears abundant fruit so that we can bless our neighbors. We must allow our money to nourish others just as fruit nourishes their bodies.

Perhaps you are thinking that you made your money the hard way. No one gave it to you. Why should you give it to others?

God is the source of our money. We cannot out give God. If we are good to people, we will gain more of God's favor.

Galatians 6:9-10 encourages us to not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up. When you give to the poor, you are lending it to God according to the book of Proverbs.

Be a giver, not a taker in this world. Giving money away that you have acquired can make you happy but real joy comes as you give your life away.

Submitted by Amelia Johnson