The metaphor in Corinthians: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully, is pretty obvious when when applied to actual agriculture, but may be less clear to be that significant in interpersonal dynamics. Some folks pride themselves on a preemptive dog-eat-dog attitude, but they are sooo wrong.
There is tons of pretty solid scientific evidence that another maxim, ’tis better to give than receive, which seems like a crazy paradox, is actually demonstrably true.
No where is this more obvious and ironclad than with dogs. We co-evolved with dogs, making them attuned to us in extraordinary ways like no other animal, but they’re still pretty dangerous carnivores. Last year in the US almsot 100 people were killed by dogs, which is part of what makes them such credible guards.
Lots of auto wrecking yards have big mean dogs, often mistreated specifically to make them even meaner, that are released at night to prowl the yard and discourage theft. I once had an acquaintance, a fellow mechanic, who was a pretty shady character. I was lamenting once that I was having trouble affording a part I needed for my old Volvo, and he offered to steal it from the wrecking yard where I had found it. I told him that the two huge guard dogs they kept penned just inside the gate went berserk when I went over to say hi (I LOVE dogs!) and that they would surely be let out in the yard at night. He explained that guard dogs never bothered him. He claimed that he would just buy a couple of packs of the cheapest hot dogs he could find, and go to his mark’s yard every night, attract the dogs over to the fence then coo at them and feed them a hot dog or two. After a few days he could approach the fence and the dogs would rush over but, recognizing him and his scent, they would start begging rather than threatening. Then he could hop the fence, give them a couple more hot dogs and pull his parts while they followed him around begging for more.
I adapted his trick when we let our dogs run free on our property in Topanga. We have a lovely trail that runs past the meadow and alongside the creek which became a bit of a neighborhood park. We encouraged our neighbors to feel free to come on our property and enjoy it, but our dogs, suspicious of strangers, would always rush down and challenge anyone who came up the road. Most of the regular visitors made friends with neck scratches and stick tossing, but a few were wary of dogs, which of course the dogs picked up on, making them continue to bark and threaten these folks whom we had invited to stroll on our property. I felt awful, and using the thief’s trick, bought them packs of hot dogs and told then to bring them when they wanted to use our trail. Sure enough, within a few weeks, our dogs welcomed them.
Of course dogs are not people, who have much more complex fears and schemes, and generosity will never work as flawlessly as it does with a dog, but the same principles are at work and almost everyone will be disarmed by a gift. Not only that, most folks admire generosity in others, and that is generally turned back onto ourselves with a glow of pride and joy we feel when we are generous.
So on this Christmas day, I hope you found some generosity in your lives, either given or received. It’s kind of the actual magic secret sauce of this most wonderful time of the year. HAPPY GENEROSITY &
HOLLY DAYS 