I Like Giving, by Brad Formsma

Brad Formsma, a businessman in Grand Rapids, Michigan, found himself in an enviable place in life: a successful business, financial prosperity, and security.  But he found himself wanting more, a desire that couldn't be met by more success or stuff, but that he found could be met my giving from what he had.  He found that "no matter how successful you are, it is giving your life away to others that makes you happy. . . . Giving satisfies our most essential self, increases our happiness, and makes us feel more alive."  He writes: "If you're not experiencing happiness and satisfaction in your life, giving to others could be the one thing that turns that around."

Formsma's book I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life fleshes out this basic principal.  Through his own experiences, and the experiences of others gathered at ilikegiving.com, Formsma shows the power of giving, big or little, monetary or completely non-material, anonymously or face-to-face.  I was encouraged to look around my world with different eyes, asking every day, "Who can I give something to or do something for today?  What do I have that I can give?  What needs exist around me?"  That attitudinal change can make a world of difference in the way I go about my day.

Acts of giving can make a world of difference in other people's lives, as well.  Formsma emphasizes, more than really seems healthy, the impact of giving on the giver, giving as a means enrich the giver.  But the fact is, when we give randomly and extravagantly, even for our own benefit, the recipient of the gift is impacted as well, sometimes profoundly.  Formsma tells story after story of meals and groceries paid for, houses, cars, and bikes purchased or given, and gifts of time and presence that changed the lives of the recipients.

Formsma has a great message, but it does fall short in a few ways.  First of all, he downplays systematic giving.  He never even mentions the word "tithe," and talks about how "building campaigns, white envelopes, and charity fund-raiser dinners" turned him off of giving.  Those can be annoying sometimes, but there is so much good done through these channels that they should not be despised.  Plus, every Christian should prioritize tithing to the local church.  Buying groceries for a stranger and helping others out should be above and beyond the tithe.

Second, he criticizes a life of trying to get ahead, of seeking financial success in our work.  It is all too true that a life in the rat race can lead to frustration and emptiness.  Yet without a steady income that provides for my family's needs and more, can I really maintain a giving attitude?  Of course I could, but if I don't have enough to pay my own bills, I am hardly in a position to give to strangers.  Besides, work and giving are not mutually exclusive.  If I am truly seeking to meet the needs of others in my work, providing through my labor goods and services that meet their needs, I will likely be compensated for my work.  The better I am at giving, at meeting needs through my work, the more successful I will be at my job, and the more like I am to have both the means and the attitude necessary to give random gifts to strangers I meet.

Formsma has a great message.  I agree that giving to others "not only . . .  result[s] in a healthier, happier you, but it creates a better world."  It would be great if everyone regularly gave stuff away at random on a regular basis.  But giving systematically, with deliberation, planning, discernment, and direction can and should be a part of our giving as well.

Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah and Edelweiss for the complimentary electronic review copy!