The Psychological Dynamic between Giver and Receiver

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Available February 25th.


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"What makes our lives so horrible is that our salvation never comes in the form we would have chosen."
- John L'Heureux

You're so right in the fact that we're the same as those less fortunate. 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. One month without a job and any of us could be on the street, begging for help.


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"Every time someone predicts the date of the end of the world, God pushes the date back a little, just to be funny."

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The first portion of your article reminded me of a "Friends" episode - Joey and Phoebe argue over whether any selfless act is truly selfless because of the "warm fuzzies" the giver gets.


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"The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well it *is* a good question.


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"What makes our lives so horrible is that our salvation never comes in the form we would have chosen."
- John L'Heureux

You're right - it is a good question. But I think that you can be selfless, regardless of any warm feelings.


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"The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Agreed, but I think there different levels of selflessness...it's a spectrum not just a binary state.

The warm fuzzies come regardless...the question is: to what degree is our motive the attainment of those warm fuzzies? The less it is, the more selfless we become.


_________________
"What makes our lives so horrible is that our salvation never comes in the form we would have chosen."
- John L'Heureux

Absolutely. My thoughts are that those warm fuzzies are, for the most part, simply a consequence of a higher motive.

If a friend of mine needs help financially, maybe I turn my heat down and pile on the blankets to stay warm so I can help. I've given sacrificially (albeit a small sacrifice), but helping my friend blesses my heart. But that good feeling wouldn't have been the motive behind the act.


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"The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Scripture says (and I agree) that the truest form of love is sacrificing one's own life.

If you were to give your own life and agree to die for someone else's good, would you have warm fuzzies then? I wouldn't. So that is truly a selfless act.


_________________
"Every time someone predicts the date of the end of the world, God pushes the date back a little, just to be funny."

Check out my new business with PartyLite! Go to www.partylite.biz/annagrace

Are you saying that's the only selfless act? I mean, I agree that it is, definitely (you can't have warm fuzzies if you're dead). But I don't think the absence of warm fuzzies in a time of sacrifice is what determines selflessness.


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"The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

By no means is that the only selfless act.

But you were debating whether or not there could be such a thing as a selfless act due to the warm fuzzies. And there's at least one.


_________________
"Every time someone predicts the date of the end of the world, God pushes the date back a little, just to be funny."

Check out my new business with PartyLite! Go to www.partylite.biz/annagrace