Heart to Give...

This weekend as I was driving, a random memory popped into my head and I was reminded of a time where my heart was changed.
While I was driving I began thinking of Mexico, since my mission trips there - my mind often goes back to the country that opened my eyes and the people who changed my life.
My 2nd trip to Mexico to Guadalajara - we went to one of the colleges to minister to college students, and help them practice English.
While in Mexico we were made aware of something that is common there. When you compliment something that belongs to another person, they most likely will hand it over to you as a gift. Well us Americans, compliments are a way to greet someone and start conversation. We often would catch ourselves in the middle of a compliment to avoid the other person giving up their belongings. Well without thinking - I didn't catch it!! There was a young women who I was speaking with, and I just could not help but notice how beautiful her earrings were... and you could see it in her eyes - she LOVED them, you could see her pride in wearing them. And you could tell she just "felt pretty". So I just felt led to tell her how pretty she looked and her earrings were so beautiful. In that moment I just thought, GREAT what did I just do. As we stood there, this girl who was BEAMING from wearing these beautiful earrings, tells me how they belonged to her grandmother and her grandmother just recently had given them to her as a gift for her birthday. Then - she starts taking them out!!! I was like please, please, please keep them! I didn't intend for you to give them up - I don't want them. But she told me, they mean so much to me - I loved them - but I would rather you enjoy them. ***Note I would not take the earrings, it was not my intention. I told her it would mean more to me for her to continue to wear them. I just wanted to make sure she knew someone noticed how proud she was of them and how pretty she was. So in me saying that she kept them, THANK YOU JESUS! I would have felt so terrible.
But as I think back on this amazing selflessness. How many Americans who have SO much more than this young girl, would have selflessly offered something like that? Something that meant so much to them? As a society we are taught to hoard important, expensive, or special things. I can tell you right now that if this generosity had become accustomed to America - how many people would never wear their prized possessions or expensive items?? I know for me - something my grandpa had given me would definitely be hidden in a closet! Or how many of us would leave our expensive iPhones or iPads at home in fear of someone indirectly asking for them. And my second thought was how many people in America would instantly take advantage of this generosity??? And would begin complimenting people always just to get their stuff??? Makes my heart break for our nation. Why is it that "things" are so much more important than people??
It blew me away, that Mexico - a country of poverty like I've never seen in America - could be so giving!!! That even though they have so much less, they have so much more!!! They have IT! They have grabbed a hold of that knowledge that people mean more to them than anything in this world!
My heart longs for this generosity in myself!!!! I wish to have a heart that puts value in people, not "things". I want to be a giver! I pray this for our nation as well... that somehow a change would happen and Christians would grab a hold of this concept and begin to GIVE.