“I must be willing to give whatever it takes to do good to others. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is no true love in me, and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.” – Mother Teresa
No one wants to be hurt.
Not physically, not emotionally, and not financially. We shield ourselves from pain as much as possible. But when it comes to love, do we really think it’s possible without getting hurt?
That’s the point of one of Mother Teresa’s most famous quote about loving and giving. To love and to give until it hurts.
Many people tried to explain away this strong message by trying to make this hurt symbolic
It’s as though we wanted to have both the thought of being generous enough and the comfort of not being hurt at all. But that is not the truth.
The truth is that we should feel the “hurt” to know that we have loved and given enough. Without the hurt, there is no sign that we have given up anything or that we have somehow let go of our selfishness.
This does not mean that we should be masochists seeking to be hurt in order to love and to be loved. This does not mean also that we should not be cheerful givers.
But it means that in this fallen world, to love is to follow the way of the cross. God Himself came down in poverty to be among us. And He endured the most tragic kind of death to give us eternal life.
Have you ever wondered how some rich people can afford buying luxurious things without being guilty of not spending that money helping others?
It’s because they think they have already given enough by donating to their favorite charities.
But did they give until it hurt? That is the question everyone must answer with one’s heart.
Jesus gave us an example of what it meant to give until it hurts:
“When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.’” – Luke 21:1-4 (NABRE)
What are you giving away?
Your extra money? The money you don’t need to take that trip to an exotic destination? The money you don’t need to buy that expensive car?
Many people who ask out of real need fail to receive from people who are better off not because those people don’t have anything to give, but because they couldn’t give until it truly hurts.
Giving until it hurts is a good standard by which we can measure our generosity towards other people. It is a sign that can let us know we’re doing something uncomfortable or inconvenient. A sign that we’re moving away from our selfishness.
Let us not try to excuse ourselves when it comes to giving to those in need. In the end, the only thing we’d ever regret is not having loved enough.
“Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self.”- Mother Teresa
Jocelyn Soriano is the author of 366 Days of Compassion. You may want to start your day by reading this devotional book to inspire you and lead you to prayer.
Where is God? God is with us, but we often do not know where to look and so we do not see. God is there, pursuing us, waiting for us to take the time to call on Him in our helplessness, in the routine of our daily lives. He is the one who will fill our lives with meaning and our hearts with hope and love.
See Jocelyn’s books from other digital stores.
You may also want to read “Why God Did Not Choose To Love Us From Afar”
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