“It is more blessed to give than to receive”

by Richard L. Weaver II

I have attended church since I was a child, and whenever I think of “church,” I think of a warm, supportive, social environment. For me, there is no “higher purpose,” no “spiritual quest,” and no “spiritual union with God.” In my early years, I attended because my family attended and in my later years I have attended because my wife and family did.

In their book, How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life, Mark Victor Hansen and Art Linkletter include a chapter entitled “Spirituality or Plugging Into a Higher Power.” In this essay I borrow liberally from their chapter, and I have avoided using quotation marks because of the distraction they sometimes cause.

I realize the reasons people attend church. Spiritual beliefs give individuals hope and peace. Also, they keep them optimistic, relieve stress, and prevent depression. The authors make it clear that strong beliefs may help seniors cope with mortality while helping them develop acceptance of the events that later life brings.

I have discovered that most people attend church because they were brought up in a family that attended church. This is neither to doubt nor diminish their own spirituality, but it isn’t like they went out on a personal mission and “found religion.” Such missions are unlikely to happen. What is more likely is that “religion” becomes an automatic, accepted, well-integrated and entrenched part of their lives. In three-out-of-four of our children, this is certainly the case. They need no scientific proof to know that prayer and spirituality exert enormous influence over their lives.

What is interesting, however, is that Hansen and Linkletter cite more than a little anecdotal evidence supporting the idea that having some sort of strong spiritual belief helps people live better and longer. How does it do that? Belief gives people strength, reminds them that we’re not alone in hard times, sets their moral compass, encourages them to help and forgive others, and gives them hope. It adds a rudder and some direction to ships being tossed and turned in turbulent seas. With a rudder, people not only find out who they are, but they have a purpose that supercedes what they do or have done in their life.

The effects of having faith have not gone totally unnoticed by the scientific world. Hansen and Linkletter cite studies that have shown that people who attend religious services regularly had lower levels of the protein interleukin-6 which is linked to immune system diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and B-cell lymphoma. Studies show, too, that patients with a strong religious faith are less likely to die in the six months after heart surgery than those without it, have lower diastolic blood pressure, and are more likely to live longer. One study the authors cited drew the conclusion that “there is something uniquely inherent in the practice of spiritual meditation that cannot be completely conveyed through secular mediation and relaxation (p. 197).”

One of the most impressive studies Hansen and Linkletter cite was conducted at the University of Texas-Austin by Terrence Hill and his team of researchers. Published in the Journal of Gerontology (2005), the study found that among people sixty-five and older who attended church once per week, the mortality rate was 32 percent lower than those people who did not attend church. This study confirmed another one just two years earlier that found a 25 percent reduction in mortality among regular churchgoers.

What is actually occurring to support the view that an active spiritual life helps people live longer? The obvious answer is that a religious lifestyle is good for your health. But what does “a religious lifestyle” mean? I think it means that people who shun smoking, drinking, and sexual promiscuity, and promote work can claim to have health advantages. There are a number of studies, for example, that claim that Seventh-day Adventists, who promote this kind of healthy lifestyle, including a vegetarian diet, enjoy greater longevity than the average American.

Actually, it goes far beyond a healthy lifestyle and vegetarian diets — although there is nobody who doubts that both contribute to longevity. Researchers suggest that the social networks that form in religious congregations offer valuable support for members. With regular church attendance, people both lend support and receive it. This helps them cope better with the stresses that normally accompany financial hard times, disease, or the loss of a loved one.

In our church services, for example, time is always provided for people to raise the names of friends and loved ones for the purposes of the prayerful support of all those in the congregation. Time is provided as well for people to offer examples of “answered prayers.” Such times give people opportunities to both lend support and receive it.

It is likely that the benefits of spiritual beliefs go even deeper than healthy lifestyles, vegetarian diets, and prayerful support. It was Harold Koenig of Duke University, who led one of the scientific studies cited earlier, who believes that faith gives meaning to the lives of regular believers. It supports beliefs that the deaths of friends or family or the major changes that are occurring in their lives are part of a greater plan. Everything becomes part of a greater plan which offers continuing evidence that life is not meaningless and random. For seniors, the primary focus of Koenig’s study, it gives them a feeling of control at a time which so much of their control seems to be slipping away from them.

Because of their outreach programs, service orientation, and involvement in the faith community, members who are regular attenders and identify closely with churches, become — through their associations, linkages, connections, and interrelationships — just as involved. It helps them stay upbeat and optimistic while filling — even if they are not actually physically involved — useful and productive roles in the community.

For me, going to church — the most obvious and tangible expression of my connection to my family — is an opportunity to socialize with people who care for and about me and each other. It is not just the ultimate expression of fellowship, belonging, love, but the collective strength of our family. When our son is the preacher, our daughter leads, sings with, and plays for the accompanying praise band, and our granddaughters often sing before the church and serve as acolytes, what greater expression and support for “family” could there be? For me, it supports the most beautiful words in the Bible, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
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Wendy Griffith, CBN News Senior Reporter, has written an essay at the CBNNews.com, entitled, “More Blessed to Give Than Receive,” in which she supports her opening statements: “A new book out explains how giving not only makes you rich - it makes you healthier and happier. There is now scientific evidence supporting the Scriptures that discuss the benefits of charitable giving.”

“Benefits of going to church as a family,” at the website, HubPages, written by Cougar, offers readers four benefits: 1) 1) Going to church builds your faith and helps you develop a better understanding of God, 2) gives you a real community, 3) gives you an outlet to help other people, and 4) People who attend church statistically live longer.
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Copyright December, 2009 - And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.