The Power of Giving
In my previous post i mentioned that giving and sacrificing is an essential tool in making a difference. Today I'm going to elaborate more about that. In this modern world, that is getting less and less compassionate. We know that people are more interested in taking, saving and spending, than anything else. But not many know this, that it is much more a blessing to give than to receive. Let me give you an illustration.
Some of you might have heard the story of Elisabeth Elliot before, the story goes like that. In the early 1950s, a young woman named Elisabeth Elliot went to Ecuador with a group of missionaries in hope to reach out to the Quicha Indians. Among the group was a man named Jim, a man who later married to her, and eventually had a daughter with her, named Valerie. After 2 years being married, Jim and four other missionaries felt a need to make contact with a group of Indians called the Auca. The Indians had a fierce reputation. The earliest record of any contact was in the 1600s. Since then, they attacked every outsider who came their way. Even the Ecuadoran Indians avoided them because of their brutality.
As Jim and the others prepared to make contact, Elisabeth knew that the 5 men would be putting themselves in danger, but she was resolute. The two of them had given their lives to this mission. For several weeks, a missionary pilot flew a plane over the Aucan village and dropped supplies and other items as gifts. They even included pictures of themselves to prepare he tribespeople for their first contact.
A few weeks later Jim ad four others landed on a small stretch of beach on the Curraray River and set up camp. There they made contact with three Aucans- a man and two women- who seemed to be friendly and receptive. And in following days, they met with several others. They told their wives by radio that they seemed to be making significant progress in befriending the tribe.
But then few days later, the men failed to check with the base camp at an appointed time. Their wives waited in vain for them. They feared for the worst.
A search party went to look for the men and radioed bad news. They had spotted the body of a white man floating in the river. The searchers found the men, one by one. With each of them the same: he had been slashed with Aucan spear. All five of them were dead.
Under those circumstances, many people in Elliot's shoes would have gone home. It's one thing to be willing to give up a comfortable life in the United States to help other people it's quite anoher to give up your spouse. But Elliot had a truly generous heart. Despite her terrible loss, she still wanted to help the people of Ecuador. She stayed and served the Quichuans with whom she was living.
What happen after that was more remarkable. Other missionaries continued trying to make contact with an Aucan village. After a couple of years, they succeeded. Immediately Elisabeth Elliot rushed over to the village. Was it to seek revenge? No, it was to work with the people and serve them. Elliot lived and worked among the Aucan people for two years, and many of thm gladly accepted the message of God's love she carried- including two of the seven men who had killed her husband.
Story referrence from- John C. Maxwell (The 21 Indispensable qualities of a Leader)
Isn't that amazing? The ability to give even your life. See, Jim and the others could have saved their own lives and killed the Aucans. They had guns with them, they could have shot the Aucans while they were attacking them. But they didn't! They cried shooting towards the sky, as they were being speared to their death. Knowing that, the Aucans weren't ready to go to heaven, and they were. Yes, they died a horrible death. But they saved a whole generation of Aucans, and they caused the extinction of brutality and violence in Ecuador.
Now I'm not asking you to give your life! But, what I'm trying to say is, don't be afraid to be generous. As it is truly better to give than to receive.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
-Jim Elliot
