THE THIRD KIND OF GIVING

Third. After giving to God and to yourself, then give something to someone else. After you give something to someone else, bless whatever it is that you give. Bless the person or persons to whom you gave it. Then release both the gift and the recipient. Any man, woman, or child can transform his life by transforming what he gives out -- what he gives to God, what he gives to himself, and what he gives out to others.
When you aren't sure what to give to others, that is the time to declare, "I GIVE UNDER DIVINE DIRECTION." Then watch the hunches and ideas that come. You'll be shown what to give, where, and to whom.
Many of the blessings you want most are within your reach! By your acts of giving, you open the way to attract the blessings you desire. These blessings have probably been waiting to reach you, but they were blocked by your own lack of giving. There was no free channel through which they could pass.
By giving under divine direction, you open a channel through which these blessings are freed to arrive. An early prosperity teacher of mine often said, "First give to God. Then give to mankind as God directs."

THE SECOND KIND OF GIVING

Second. Give to yourself. Yes, open your mind to receive by giving to yourself, because all progress begins with self-improvement. It is just as possible to overgive to others as it is to undergive to yourself. Overgiving to others and undergiving to yourself unbalances the law and keeps your good from coming through. You must first give your allention to the improvement and development of yourself before you can possibly help others.
You cannot possibly give to others unless you first have something to give. You must first have strength, wisdom, and substance before you can share these qualities with others. There are those misguided people who think it is selfish to emphasize self-improvement first. But it is only after self-improvement that you are capable of helping others.
When you do just the opposite, when you overgive to others and undergive to yourself, you feel depleted and you are. This causes within you a sense of lack which is degrading and limiting. Because of this, overgiving to others is self-defeating. It accomplishes nothing constructive.
Psychologists talk about the sin of parents who overgive to their children. This suppresses their children's talents and it overworks the parents. Such overgiving harms everyone concerned. In the recent "age of permissiveness,'' we have witnessed the damaging results of overgiving parents in their confused, bewildered children.
Conversely my own father reluctantly gave as little as possible to his children. The philosophy of under-giving had been a part of his upbringing. It caused us many hardships, and it took me years to overcome the poverty- consciousness that resulted. So let us seek to strike a happy balance.
The philosophers of old advised, "To thine own self be true.'' Give something to yourself right away. It might be a new book you wish to read, an item of clothing or jewelry, or something for your home or office. It might be the treat of going out to dinner, to the theater, to a party, or taking a vacation. It might be the deliberate setting aside of some daily time for prayer, meditation and inspirational study. It might be something; big or small, tangible or intangible.

THE FIRST KIND OF GIVING

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Giving is the first step in receiving. When you want to receive, give! However, there are three kinds of giving. All three are equally necessary to your long term growth and success.
First. Give to God, Put Him first financially. Why? As explained in Buddhism and elsewhere, this is the first quality to be developed in your character on the road to Enlightenment. Many conscientious people study self-help methods galore, yet do not receive the benefits from them that they should because they ignore this first step.
Various schemes have been suggested for getting rich quick. Most of them fail because they are based on ''getting'' -- not ''giving.'' They have no spiritual basis. The reason many people fail to receive their good in life is because they do not practice giving or returning impersonally to the universe on a systematic basis a portion of all that the universe shares with them.
Two businessmen in Chicago once told me they had held the local franchise on one of the most famous success courses in America, one that cost thousands of dollars to take. Though they prospered for a time, they eventually went broke. They finally realized why: Their course had only emphasized "getting"-- not "giving." Their course had not taught the spiritual side of prosperity. It had not taught its students to tithe their way to prosperity by returning to the universe a tenth of all they received. It was only after these two businessmen found their way into one of the local New Thought churches and began to put God first financially, that their financial affairs stabilized and they began permanently prosper.
When any person withholds that which belongs to the universe, his life is thrown oot of balance, and he experiences lack in some form. It may be lack of supply, lack of health, lack of love, lack of spiritual understanding, or lack of directlon in his life. It is only as we let go of our littleness that we can expand into the larger life.
So it is not enough to say that you believe God is the Source of your supply (as previously suggested). You must prove that you believe God is the Source of your supply by first sharing with Him. This keeps you in touch with a universal source of abundance.
The billionaire Solomon pointed out what the wise use this ancient success method could mean to you when he advised: "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall overflow with new wine.' (Proverbs 3:9, 10)*