If you’ve ever felt good after you’ve lent a helping hand, there’s a psychological reason for it.
Psychologist and CEO leadership coach Yosi Amram said, “Research consistently finds that acts of generosity are associated with lower stress, improved cardiovascular health, greater life satisfaction, and enhanced psychological well-being. Volunteering (which in and of itself combats isolation by connecting us to our community) has even been linked to better physical health and longevity.”
It can even elevate the mood just to witness someone else’s act of kindness. This is thanks to mirror neurons, which allow humans to empathize with others’ experiences. Caring is not just something learned; it is part of our biology.
Service is one of the “qualities in the spiritual intelligence framework,” said Amram. Acts of service can be as small as giving thanks to a waiter or grocery store clerk. “The size of the act matters far less than the care behind it,” he explained.
When service is given out of obligation, guilt or pressure to improve one’s worth, it becomes exhausting and creates resentment.
“When service primarily fuels our ego, we risk burnout, codependency, or losing sight of the very people we’re trying to benefit,” wrote Amram. “We may resist letting ourselves be vulnerable enough to receive in return (an act that allows others to be givers, weaving us together in a healthy, interdependent community).”
The best service comes from love. When this happens, it feels like a natural expression of who you are.
In Scripture, we are taught that Christians should be generous by nature. Acts 20:35 says, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Christian writer Anita O’Dell wrapped up the synthesis nicely: “Giving creates a blessing over the people whom I have to do with. This in turn has an effect on the people they have to do with. In this way, nothing is wasted, and I find myself blessed too, contributing to a sense of thriving and well-being around me and witness to the power and wonder of Jesus’ love for mankind.”
Stinginess and indifference are the opposite of God’s nature. God’s word literally says we are more blessed through giving than receiving, and the research shows that through our improved psychological well-being. That said, don’t be generous just to feel good, but because it’s what’s right.
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