Gratuitousness

THIS should be the attitude in our self-giving. It has to

be done without counting the cost, without expecting any reward. We

should not worry about anything, because God knows everything and

gives us everything that we need. And he cannot be outdone in

generosity. The more we give of ourselves, the more he will reward us.

            We just have to do our self-giving very freely. As Christ

himself told his apostles, “Freely you have received, freely give.”

(Mt 10,8) And the first one to live by this principle is Christ

himself. He gave himself freely to us, including his own life. He did

not mind the sacrifices, the insults and mistreatment he underwent.

            This is what true love is. It is a total self-giving. But

the mysterious part of it is that it actually generates more love and

self-giving in others. It inspires others to give themselves in the

way of true love. That is why true love has its own reward. It has the

dynamic of being repaid also with love.

            We should always be encouraged to give ourselves to others

gratuitously without strings attached, without conditions. Even if

instead of being reciprocated properly and requited, our love is

misunderstood and rejected, we just have to go on loving. The only

reason for loving is because that is what true love is. It is this

love that is the real essence of God, of whom we are his image and

likeness.

            Loving in this way can only mean giving all the glory to

God. We have to be careful because we always have the tendency to give

glory to ourselves, if not totally then at least partially. Our motto

should be “Deo omnis gloria,” all the glory to God.

            We should not worry about our own glorification because

God will take care of it. This is what St. Paul said in this regard:

“For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the

image of his Son…And those he predestined he also called. Those he

called he also justified. Those he justified he also glorified…If God

is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8,29-31)

            What a consoling thought, these words of St. Paul are!

This way of loving, of giving ourselves to others without counting the

cost and without expecting any return, is what would identify us with

God, with Christ. This is how Christ behaved.

            We have to learn to give ourselves to others and to do

good without attracting attention. We have to learn the art of passing

unnoticed. Whenever Christ performed his miracles, he would always

tell the beneficiaries not to announce to the public what he did to

them. Of course, the beneficiaries could not help but spread the word

around. But we should follow the example of Christ.

            He even taught it explicitly. “When you give to the needy,

do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the

synagogues and on the streets, to be praised by men. Truly I tell you,

they already have their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not

let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your

giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in

secret, will reward you.” (Mt 6,2-4)

            We have to do everything to fight against our tendency to

show off our goodness and generosity. We can even do that in a very

subtle way, which is really very devious and corrupting to our own

selves. We really have to discipline ourselves to pass unnoticed while

doing a lot of good.

            There is always need for continually rectifying our

intentions and finding practical ways so that our good deeds are

solely motivated by love of God which is the proper way to love our

neighbor. Otherwise, it would just be fake love!