Hardwired to Give

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Giving back doesn’t just help those in need; it also helps us. Many of us realize that giving is better than receiving, that we are instructed by God to give generously, and that giving makes us feel good. Let’s focus on that last point.

Giving makes us feel good.

Is that why we give? It may seem easy to argue that we only give because it makes us feel good—because, after all, it really does— but there is more going on there than we may realize.

“Accusations that you’re only giving to make yourself look or feel better can leave people feeling like they’re giving for all the wrong reasons; but researchers have expressed that without outside influence, participants almost always chose to give earnings or “gifts” to a charity, anyway,” says United Brain Association. “With the veil of anonymity at their fingertips, the feelings of joy they felt by being charitable compelled them to give regardless.”

So are we hardwired to give to others, as the quoted article suggests? There is ample psychological evidence that points to this being true, which serves as further evidence for the truth of what scripture says about giving:

“You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake” (Deuteronomy 15:10).

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“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

There are many temporary and fleeting feelings in our lives. In fact, we can easily fall into the trap of hedonic adaptation, which happens when we do too much of a pleasurable thing to the point where the excitement is gone.

But this doesn’t happen when we give! The previously mentioned article by United Brain Association mentions a study conducted in the early 2000s. Because of the study, “[Researchers] found that acts of charity increased activity in the portion of the brain known as the anterior prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with self-initiated behaviors, planning, and social cognition. This part of the brain is also associated with the pleasure centers, which encourage us to seek out mood-lifting behaviors and pleasurable activities.”

God has hardwired us to feel good about giving to others! Every little thing has been thought out, and the Lord keeps his promises.

We give out of the goodness of our hearts, and for the glory of God. The feeling we get is a byproduct, and an awesome one at that. We are instructed to give, and when we do so we feel the effect physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

 

Works Cited

United Brain Association. “The Power of Giving – The Psychology Behind Giving Back.” United Brain Association, 30 June 2022, https://unitedbrainassociation.org/2020/12/30/the-power-of-giving-the-psychology-behind-giving-back/. 

Photo from churchleadership.com: https://www.churchleadership.com/leading-ideas/giving-for-the-right-reasons/#prettyPhoto 

Community Outreach

We Are All Neighbors

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At Fairhaven, we like to use the word neighbor. Why is that?

 

Neighbor is a word to describe everyone we interact with, including our clients, our staff, our volunteers, our donors, our friends, our family, our community members, our church members, grocery store staff, bank tellers, restaurant workers, gas station attendants, mortgage lenders, coaches, teachers, CEOs, office managers, the people who reside next door—literally everyone. Our fellow human beings. We are all each other’s neighbors.

 

There is an invisible divide—sometimes even a barrier—that many of us have put up unintentionally between what we perceive as “us” and “them.” It doesn’t matter the context. “Us” and “them” could be seen as: rich and poor, believers and nonbelievers, secure and homeless. We can look at someone and say: “They don’t go to church,” or, “They are sleeping on a park bench,” and form an opinion or judgment about them. Not all judgment is bad, and some of these observations can help us navigate the world and practice discernment, but nevertheless sometimes these statements and judgments and opinions can form a divide between “us” and “them,” as if we aren’t all in this together. As if we aren’t all human and guilty of sin. As if we aren’t all children of God.

 

This is why we look at everyone we interact with as our neighbor.

 

There isn’t a single one of us who is infallible. There isn’t a single one of us who hasn’t done something he has regretted. There isn’t a single one of us who isn’t capable of committing sin. There isn’t a single one of us who can look in the mirror and say to herself that she has lived a perfect life.

 

We all have these things in common. All of us. We are all each other’s neighbors.

 

We need to lift each other up. We need to be courageous. We need to be discerning and careful, but not hide away from those who are suffering. We need to love, just as God loves us. We need to love and help our neighbors, just as Jesus did and continues to do.

 

“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14).