Lora took our kids Christmas shopping this week and Josiah wasn’t super excited about the idea of getting gifts for others. He’s still in the getting gifts stage. So I tried to give him a little pep talk. I said, “Josiah, do you know the only thing better than getting gifts.” He said, “Yup, getting more gifts!” True. But I said Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” True joy is found on the giving side of life. Don’t get me wrong. I like receiving gifts as much as the next person. But giving gifts is a richer, deeper, truer joy.

I think many of us live our lives looking for happiness on the wrong side of the equation. We think that if we get more we’ll be happy. But it’ll never satisfy. The only way to find true joy is to give more.