The hardest thing is to take less when you can get more. – Kin Hubbard

This reminds me of two sayings that often go through my mind –

• Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.
• A gentleman never takes an advantage.

We must actively work to curb our appetites. To work against our natural tendencies toward greed and gluttony.

Not in a “rich people and business are bad” kind of way, but in a way that allows us to minimize the distractions from the life’s more important elements.

The opportunity to have and be more is an opportunity to give and serve more, not a chance to consume everything in an endless chase of temporary pleasures.

I’ve had the good fortune to have had generous and kind parents who (despite my best efforts) instilled some of these same values into me. We’ve worked to consistently tithe as a family and the lesson I’ve learned from doing so is that we are better off for having given away those tithes.

Our lives are better when we give and serve more.

Find a way to give today. Not out of guilt or shame, but from a desire to honor our role in this world.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – Bonus point/reminder – it’s not about you (or me)! It’s about others. Every single time.