You have received much, now give much. Matthew 10:8

 

You are bombarded with up to 400 of them a day. Advertisements are becoming so intrusive they can almost feel like they’re inside your head.[1]

Today, everyone is trying to convince us to vote for them, buy their product, or patronize their business. And, of course, advertisers only give us the information most likely to convince us to do what would benefit them. It’s easy to feel manipulated in such a world. Who can you trust? Who’s telling the truth– the whole truth?

Here’s a comforting realization: Jesus never manipulates us. In a world where everyone wants something from us for their own gain, Jesus looks at us devoid of need and full of love. God needs nothing from us, but He knows and loves us. In scripture, we see Jesus’s honesty with people in all His conversations. He’s open about the hardships of following Him (Matthew 16:24-26). He doesn’t gloss over our struggles and pasts (John 4:18). And Jesus doesn’t silence people’s pain (John 11:33).

Just as God doesn’t manipulate us into relationship with Him, neither are we to manipulate others for our benefit. God’s love is about giving freely, walking honestly, and not valuing others by what you can get from them. Do you look at your faith as a transaction or treat others transactionally? Jesus invites you out of a transactional world all about what you can get from others and into a relationship where you can freely give and freely receive.

In the Bible book of Matthew, Jesus sends His followers out to help others with these words, “You have received much, now give much” (Matthew 10:8). This is the joyful generosity that comes after you have received God’s love! Who needs you to love them with that unconditional generosity today?

[1] Inman, Paul. “How Many Ads Do You See in a Day? [Updated 2024].” 75Media, 29 Jan. 2024, 75media.co.uk/blog/how-many-ads-seen-one-day/.