Giving Away My Best

In 2020 to celebrate the completion of my first three-week course “Introduction to Missions” I decided to become very generous with Bible College students.

I didn’t just share my good coffee and buy snacks (along with KFC)….

I gave them a WHOLE BAG of my Jolly Ranchers!

For years Jolly Ranchers were my go-to reward for students, and young people in Barrouallie. I’d buy multiple five-pound bags of them containing about 500 piece each. In recent years I chose other candy because Jolly Ranchers become too sticky. But for a long time they were a very precious commodity.

That’s why the students were shocked when I gave them a whole five-pound bag to divide among themselves and the college secretary. Slowly all 500 pieces were counted very carefully (and recounted) into separate plastic bags till each of them had a personal stash of my precious candy.

My reason for giving away a whole bag is the students didn’t get to indulge in things like that too much.

But more than that it was because generosity should give away our best.

It’s easy to give away the cheap things that we don’t care much about. But giving away the things we use a lot and cannot replace is hard. Yet this means more because they know your giving your best.

I had to start buying cheaper quality Vincentian candy a little earlier that year, but that’s okay.

But giving away my best is more important than keeping it for myself.