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By Barry Buzza
 I'm interested in watching the new television show that Oprah is producing, The Big Giveaway, where like the Apprentice, contestants compete to be the last person fired. They don't know it but the person who gives his allotment of cash away most successfully, will win a million dollars-maybe they'll have so much fun giving money away, they'll give that million away too!
Oprah's show follows one of the most generous programs on TV, Extreme Make-Over. The producers choose a needy, but worthy, family who give themselves beyond the call of duty. Then they build a new home for them in less than a week. Watching the gratefulness and the tears of the recipients will pull at the heart strings of even the most miserly.
Even Donald Trump has jumped on the giving band-wagon. Rather than have his apprentices compete to acquire the most money and gain a personal position of power and prestige, the new Celebrity Apprentice has the contestants competing to give their earnings to their favourite charity. Last week the Donald himself threw in $50,000 to the charity of the guy who got fired. Wow! Something good is happening!
Some of North America's richest people are picking up on a life principle that Jesus taught 2000 years ago, "It's more blessed to give than to receive".
That's a very easy to quote statement. The eight words roll off our tongues as a platitude every Christmas season. But it's not so simple to believe. The reasons most of us find giving difficult to practice is because of the way we've been taught, both in life and in our schooling.
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In life, especially with our three post-depression, post-war, prosperous generations, we've accelerated the receiving part of the giving transactions. Just compare the birthday parties my parents (born 1918) had, to mine (born 1947), to my kids (born 1971), to our grandkids (born 2000).
Today it seems to be a competition to see who can get the biggest, most extravagant, funnest place to entertain the kids. The kids get bored with a simple trip to McDonald's-it's got to be more than a Happy Meal to tickle their fancies. We have more today, so many of our kids feel entitled to more.
Add to that, the way we've been taught simple mathematics in school. My granddaughter Victoria is only in kindergarten, but she already knows the drill. Ten take away two, is eight. Five take away one, is four. If I have three candies and give away two, then I only have one left. "What do you mean, 'it's more blessed to give than to receive'? That doesn't compute in my logical little brain. I definitely like getting stuff better than giving it away. Getting more stuff makes me happy-giving away depletes my supply. That's not good."
Yet at the same time, most of us get feel-good goose bumps when the family with severely allergic children, receives a brand new dust free home from the Extreme Make-Over team. Or we actually do feel better when we give a gift to help an AIDS orphan in Africa.
So how do we reconcile our mathematics and our growing tendency towards getting, with this life-promoting principle that promises more blessing to the giver than the receiver? I'll tackle that question next week.
Barry Buzza, a regular contributor to canadianchristianity.com, is a veteran pastor, and also the president of the The Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada. www.barrybuzza.com www.foursquare.ca
March 13/2008
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It makes me think that as Christians, it's a shame that we're still selfish. Even I always think that I lack giving.