Money CAN Buy Happiness . . . If You Give it Away

Scientific research says that there’s one thing that you can do with your money that will buy you happiness, and its called giving it away. Here’s an article on msnbc, that talks about money buying happiness.

“New research reveals that when individuals dole out money for gifts for friends or charitable donations, they get a boost in happiness while those who spend on themselves get no such cheery lift.”

Instead of spending money on yourself to find happiness, why not try spending it on others. We probably spend money on ourselves to attain some level of satisfaction, but that doesn’t seem to be a sure-fire way to gain it. It’s amazing that we are wired this way. According to evolution it seems that charity and giving is counter-productive to the survival of the fittest, or the preservation of a species. You see my dog doesn’t know how to give. It doesn’t know love. Everything it does is selfish. Those of us who have dogs may think it loves us back by licking us and being excited when we walk in the door, but I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that’s not love. Dogs do not fight with their conscience about their selfish attitudes.

This brings me to another point that I was thinking about while watching, “The Bee Movie” by Dreamworks. I don’t know if anybody saw this movie, but it made me think why do bees make all that honey? Do they need all that honey? I started to wonder if God just gave them that task for our enjoyment. I know it was a cartoon, but i was getting some profound thoughts about God and creation. Aren’t bees such a testimony against evolution? Everything that bees do tell you is that God made them to work so that we could be blessed off of their production. There’s no need for bees to make all that honey, but God created the bees so that we could enjoy all that honey.

I don’t think bees get enjoyment from giving away their honey, cause they seem pretty pissed off at the dudes wearing those netted outfits. But what if we worked and gave just like those bees do? Yeah, yeah, i know its a stretch analogy, but if you think about it, God made those bees for us. So what did God make us for? Didn’t he make us to serve others, just like the bees serve? Are we producing enough honey to give to others in need? We should be giving liberally and generously. We also need to fight laziness.

Does our giving taste sweet to God by giving with a Godly heart? When you put that honey in your mouth, the sweetness just makes your tastebuds tingle, and it just satisfies your cravings all around. So, does your giving satisfy God’s cravings for his children just like honey satisfies your own?

It’s obvious that God has called us to serve.