In the olden times when trade and commerce was carried out mainly through the seas, sea merchants and traders had a field day. They would go to the seaports and load their ships with the items that are available in their hometown and send them out to other seaports where those items are in demand. Then after about a month or so, these sea merchants and traders would again go to the seaports and wait for their ships to return to them with gold, silver, precious stones or other items. And in a time when there was no telephone, telegram or postal service, the only thing these merchants could do was just wait and hope for the best that nothing untoward happens to their cargo in the turbulent and unpredictable seas.
But there is a catch here. Only those merchants who had sent out their ships earlier would go to the seaport and wait for the return of their ships. If you had not sent out any ship, the question of going to the seaport and waiting for your ship to come back does not arise. And in the absence of the modern communication facilities, there was no way through which these traders could confirm or update the status of their expected cargo. But in good faith and with great hope, they would wait because, since they had sent out their ships, they somehow believed and knew that it would come back to them.
In the same way, we all want good things to happen to us, our families and our children. But how can good things happen to us when, in the first place, we are not doing anything good for others. In other words, how can we go to the seaport and wait for our ship when, in the first place, we had not sent out any ship?
This is the inherent idea of the principle of ‘give and take’ that is present in the psyche of man. And this principle of “give and take” governs the whole affairs of mankind and there is no way we can run away from this. And many issues, evils and injustices prevail and persist in our society today because many people want to only take and never give. And it is interesting to note that this idea of the principle of ‘give and take’ was set in motion in the Garden of Eden itself.
When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the beautiful Eden garden, He told them to enjoy everything to their hearts’ desire and content. And so, apparently, in the Eden garden, everything seemed to be free and up for grabs. But do you think that really was the case and that God did not have any expectations from them? I don’t think so. God told them that they could eat and enjoy everything in the garden except the tree of ‘good and evil’ in the middle of the garden. So, even in this beautiful garden where God seemed to have given everything free and without any string attached, the principle of ‘give and take’ was very much prevalent and in full operation. So after seemingly giving everything free to the first man and woman in the garden, what did God expect from them? Of course, what God expected and wanted from them was their obedience, their respect, their submission to His authority, their praise and worship and their acknowledgement of the fact that they exist because of Him and His love. So, in a way, we can say that Adam and Eve were chased away from the Eden garden because they failed to uphold this universal principle of “Give and Take”. That’s how important and vital this principle really is.
Recently, one of our ministers said on a public platform that government servants should not only have the habit of drawing salary. This means that govt. servants should also think about giving back something to their department or government which is feeding them. He said this because many govt. employees are interested only in their salaries and they do not think about giving back something to the public and the society through their service. Yes, govt. servants need to realize that the principle of “give and take” applies even in the govt. departments.
In a way, all govt. employees are like beneficiaries of the government. If you are a govt. servant drawing your salary from the state exchequer that means you are a direct beneficiary of the government or your department. And if you are a beneficiary getting benefit from or through someone or establishment, it is your bounden duty to think about giving back something to that person or institution. But if you think that you have no obligation or responsibility towards your department other than to suck your monthly salary and other benefits from it, then sooner or later all will not be well with you because the principle of “give and take”is an all pervasive and permeating one which governs every aspect and field of human life.
When somebody gets into government service, he/she automatically becomes entitled to many benefits and incentives like provident fund, pension benefits/schemes, loan facilities etc apart from the monthly salary. And this is why govt. services are still the most sought-after jobs everywhere. So once someone gets into the govt. sector, he/she becomes the sole beneficiary of all these that come along with being a govt. servant. And nobody can take away these from him/her. And there is nothing wrong with this. But the problem arises because most govt. employees fail to go beyond this. They become so focused on what they can get through and from their jobs that they miserably fail to give back to the public and society and thereby corrupting and crippling the whole system and machinery.
And this principle of “give and take” applies very much in human relationship also. If you are in a relationship where you are only giving and receiving very little in return. Then the relationship is lopsided and out of balance and the sooner you pull out of that relationship the better and happier it will be for you. Many human relationships fail to work out because people enter into the relationship with the wrong mindset. Rather than focusing on what they can contribute to the relationship, many become more inclined towards what they can get out of such liaisons. But there has to be a balance between what one gives and what one takes in order to make the relationship work and last.
Whether we realize it or not, we all live in this reverberating cycle of “give and take” principle. Many a times we don’t see the desired results of our endeavors because we fail to uphold this principle of “give and take”. By nature, humans are selfish and self-centered and as such we all have the natural tendency to put our focus more on what we can get rather than what we can give.
So the solution to most of our problems at home, workplaces or elsewhere may be simply to uphold this principle of give and take. Nobody is telling you not to take anything from others. There may be nothing wrong is grabbing the benefits and advantages that come along your way since we live in a welfare state where the democratically installed machinery is to look after the wellbeing of its citizens. But we would see a more vibrant and balanced society only when we make an effort to uphold more steadfastly this principle of “give and take’. And if we do that, I am sure that many ills and evils which plague our society will just evaporate into thin air.
The scripture says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. But does that mean that Christ died for some total strangers from whom He expects nothing. Certainly Not! Man rebelled against his creator and got detached from Him. And because of his selfish intentions and sins, man himself wandered away and became like a stranger to God. But for God, man was never a stranger because God created man in His own image. And so just as parents rear up their children with much hope and expectations and seemingly doing everything free of cost but expecting them to become worthy human beings and responsible honorable citizens,though Christ also did His part seemingly free of cost, He did it with great expectation that we all would come to know and realize His righteousness and acknowledge His lordship. So even though the gospel is often preached as a message where God is doing and giving everything free, the underlying principle here is also the principle of “give and take”. And our part here is simply to admit our wickedness and acknowledge His righteousness and lordship and come to Him.
