Dunn, Aknin, and Norton: Prosocial

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

“While a great deal of research has shown that people with more money are somewhat happier than people with less money, our research demonstrates that how people spend their money also matters for their happiness.

In particular, both correlational and experimental studies show that people who spend money on others report greater happiness. The benefits of such prosocial spending emerge among adults around the world, and the warm glow of giving can be detected even in toddlers.

These benefits are most likely to emerge when giving satisfies one or more core human needs. The rewards of prosocial spending are observable in both the brain and the body and can potentially be harnessed by organizations and governments.”

Elizabeth W., Dunn, Lara B. Aknin, and Michael I. Norton in “Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off.” Current Directions in Psychological Science.

As I continue my modern research, I find more information that may interest Christians in the generosity space.

For example, this study demonstrates that how people steward or spend their money for the good of others, that is, in prosocial ways to satisfy the core human needs of others, brings more happiness than spending it on themselves.

God made us to give. Jesus Himself said it is better to give then receive. But notice the parallel with one of the most famous Scriptures in the Bible.

God loved us so much He gave His only Son. We get to follow suit and sacrifice our of love for others, to meet their core needs, like He met ours. So the research reveals that we can achieve greater happiness when we follow His example for the good of others.

Think about examples in your life. A small child has a core need so you don’t flinch to supply it and find great joy in doing so. A friend experiences hardship so you sacrifice to help them get back on their feet. Perhaps you can think of other examples?

Live simply and allow margin to give generously to meet prosocial needs and you just might discover happiness beyond estimation.

“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.’” Acts 20:35

“Money can buy happiness — if you spend it on others, research suggests.

Imagine you’re really selfish. How should you spend your resources to maximize your happiness? Instead of buying more stuff for yourself, research suggests that giving to people or causes you care about is more likely to do the trick.

Giving not only helps others, but it also rewards yourself in measurable ways, so much so that it may even increase your lifespan. People seem to understand this intuitively…

A growing body of research has revealed numerous psychological and physiological benefits of giving, challenging common conceptions about the relationship between money and happiness.

In 2008, for example, Norton and his colleagues conducted a study where they gave $5 or $20 to people and then instructed them to spend it either on themselves or someone else.

Later that evening, the researchers checked in with the participants to see how they felt emotionally. The group that gave money to others reported feeling happier over the course of the day. What’s more, the results showed no emotional difference between people who received $5 and those who got $20.”

Stephen Johnson in “How generosity changes your brain” Big Think and Neurosych Post dated 17 August 2021.

Luke records Paul reminding us that “It is better to give than receive.”

As Johnson notes, “people seem to understand this intuitively,” but now research is proving it. And to me the best part of this is the comment linked to $5 and $20.

Think of the implications of this for givers everywhere in the world.

Whether we give two pennies or two thousand dollars, giving enhances and impacts the life of the giver. Or as others have put it, “God does not need our money. We need to give it.”

When we do, it shapes and changes us.

I will share more of this research tomorrow, but for now, instead of buying something, make a gift somewhere today. Consider GTP as we plan program work in Costa Rica and Colombia, two new countries, later this month.

Click here to give. Whether you give $5 or $20, your gift will empower national worker to build trust and grow local giving. And it will increase your happiness.

You can cherish the thought that your gift will build the capacity of each of the ministries served by each worker, and it will grow your joy. If you want to multiply impact to workers serving the poor and needy in these place, give generously instead of making a purchase today.

And pause to see how you feel about this decision at the end of the day. Who knows? It might feel so good that you might just repeat the action tomorrow too.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

“Whereas philosophers pondered on the essence of generosity for years, and economists studied generosity as a set of strategies guiding people’s behavior in situations where resources are limited, little empirical research studied its psychological aspects such as decision making processes. Even less research has investigated the enhancement of generosity…

People high on attachment avoidance were less likely to experience the positive affective outcomes of generosity; whereas people high on attachment anxiety tended to experience more negative feelings associated with generous encounters. Furthermore, attachment avoidance was negatively associated with the tendency to behave generously within close relationships.

This shows that attachment avoidance associates with the tendency to be generous, potentially because avoidance attenuates the rewarding aspects of generosity. Whereas anxiety was also associated with the emotional aspects of generosity, it was not associated with behaving generously. These findings are in line with past research on attachment style and prosocial constructs, showing that avoidance predicts the behavioral tendency, whereas anxiety associates with motivations and emotions.”

Gillath, Atchley, Imran, and El-Hodiri in “Examining the Experience and Enhancement of Generous Behavior via Attachment Security” research presented at the International Association for Relationship Research Conference in Chicago, IL in 2012.

I’ve shifted my focus for the foreseeable future from ancient to modern research related to generosity.

Yesterday’s study opened up research on attachment and generosity. Again, most studies show four kinds of attachment: Anxious (or Preoccupied), Avoidant (or Dismissive), Disorganized (or Fear-Avoidant), and Secure.

We find that the research shows that avoidant attachment results in less generosity and the more secure people feel, the more generous they become. It makes sense.

The piece that seems to make everything pivot is anxiety. Anxiety limits, hinders, dampens, slows, and can even thrwart generosity. The research proves it.

No wonder the Apostle Peter instructed us to give our anxieties to the Lord! He cares for us better than we could ever care for ourselves. Next I may pivot to see the connection between anxiety and wealth.

I wonder if people who hold on to more money, as containers, have more anxiety than those who have less and who serve as conduits of blessing. It seems that giving really does help us take hold of life.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33

“Together the three studies provide robust and consistent support to our proposition that attachment style associates with generosity, and that the enhancement of attachment security leads to increased generosity. We were able to both assess and manipulate attachment on the one hand and assess different aspects of generosity (emotional, motivational, and behavioral) on the other. This enabled us to take advantage of both the experimentally controlled observations as well as behavior under naturalistic real-world settings…Overall, our studies showed that avoidance was associated with less generosity, and making people more secure, or providing them with mental resources resulted in more generous behavior.”

Gillath, Atchley, Imran, and El-Hodiri in “Examining the Experience and Enhancement of Generous Behavior via Attachment Security” research presented at the International Association for Relationship Research Conference in Chicago, IL in 2012.

I’ve shifted my focus for the foreseeable future from ancient to modern research related to generosity.

And the header photo reflects a cool new cabinet in our home which looks like the front of research library.

Today’s study looks attachment and generosity. Most studies show four kinds of attachment: Anxious (or Preoccupied), Avoidant (or Dismissive), Disorganized (or Fear-Avoidant), and Secure.

The research shows that avoidant attachment results in less generosity and the more secure people feel, the more generous they become. It makes sense.

And, for those of us who want to encourage greater generosity, the study shows we should provide people of all attachments with mental resources to help them grow in security.

Consider the impact of verses like today’s Scripture!

Rather than be anxious or fearful of the future, we can be generous today because we know our Father in heaven cares for our needs.

How might you help people feel more secure to help them grow in generosity?

And [Jesus] said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15

“19. Some superiors of churches and monasteries, men and women, allow themselves to be so blinded by covetousness, that they demand money from those who are in the clerical state, or who wish to enter a monastery. If a bishop or abbess or cleric has done this, he is no longer to commit the same, or, in accordance with Canon 2 of Chalcedon, he will be deposed. If an abbess does it, she shall be removed from her convent and transferred into another as a subordinate. So with the abbess who is not a priest. In regard, however, to that which parents have given to the monastery with their children as dower, or that which these have brought of their own property with the declaration that it was consecrated to God — this must remain to the monastery, whether they continue there or go out again, if its superior is free from fault” (in regard to the departure of the person in question).”

Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787) in “Canon 19” in History of the Councils of the Church, Volume 5; by Charles Joseph Hefele, 315-316.

This marks the final post in my recent exploration of the seven councils that shaped the church in the first 8 centuries. I was inspired to explore them after seeing the seven murals that illustrated them on the walls of the cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv.

1. Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325)
2. Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)
3. Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)
4. Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
5. Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553)
6. Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680)
7. Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787)

Another issue the seventh council had to deal with relates to covetousness. Anyone in charge of a church or ministry, a monastery or convent, was warned not to become blinded by covetousness. Let’s explore this further.

Covetousness can be defined as “having a strong desire for things that other people have.” We see things other people have. We think we need these things. Then, blinded by this thinking, we use our power to try to get these things.

Notice the wrong turn we take. Things God created for us are good. But when we think we need anything (other than God), we become possessed by that possession and blinded by covetousness.

Furthermore, a closer look at this canon reveals that things donated to ministries are described as “consecrated to God.” Herein we find the secret to avoid becoming blinded by covetousness.

We must use what we have faithfully as consecrated to God. It’s His! And while it’s true we may feel we need things, instead of choosing the path of discontentment with what God has supplied, let us give thanks for what we have and that we have Him.

In this place of contentment and dependence, He often supplies more in His timing because we have avoided covetousness (at least this time anyway). This can be tricky for all of us, even heads of Christian ministries.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Timothy 6:6-8

“16. The bishops and clergy may not adorn themselves with showy apparel. If they do so, they are to be punished. The like applies to those who anoint them. As, however, the accusers of the Christians (iconoclasts) not merely rejected the sacred images, but also persecuted with hatred those who passed ascetic lives, every one is to be punished who mocks men who are poorly and reverently clad, for in ancient times every cleric wore a poor and reverent garment, and no one made use of gay silken apparel or of a colored decoration at the border of his mantle.”

Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787) in “Canon 16” in History of the Councils of the Church, Volume 5; by Charles Joseph Hefele, 315.

I shot this header photo of the seventh of the seven councils in the cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv of this council. A primary topic of this council was the adoration of iconography.

Notice in the photo the presence of many images and icons. The council determined that icons should be treated with respect and veneration but not adoration, which should be reserved for God alone.

1. Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325)
2. Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)
3. Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)
4. Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
5. Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553)
6. Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680)
7. Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787)

Another issue the council had to deal with relates to the apparel of the bishops and clergy. They were dressing too fancy and not exhibiting the simplicity and contentment Paul wanted Timothy to model for the church in Ephesus.

This strikes a nerve with me. I really don’t like it when I see any Christian workers, CEO’s, pastors, or board members looking flashy or showy in their appearance. What may be a turn on with the world should be a turn off to us.

We must show our piety not with our apparel but with our good deeds. I am not against having nice clothing. I would urge God’s servants to move beyond flashy and showy and instead focus on utility and simplicity.

This not only creates margin for greater generosity. It also positions people to shift their focus off of us and on to Jesus and what Jesus is doing among us.

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” Acts 8:18-24

“5. Those who boast of having obtained a position in the Church by the expenditure of money, and who depreciate others who have been chosen because of their virtuous life and by the Holy Ghost without money, these shall, in the first place, be put back to the lowest grade of their order, and if then also they still persist (in their pride), they shall be punished by the bishop. But if anyone has given money in order to obtain ordination, the 30th apostolic canon and the 2nd canon of Chalcedon apply to him. He and his ordainer are to be deposed and excommunicated.”

Zonaras and Balsamon in earlier times, and later, Christian Lupus and Van Espen, remarked that the second part of our canon treated of simony, but not the first. This has in view rather those who, on account of their large expenditure on churches and the poor, have been raised (without simony) to the clerical state as a reward and recognition of their beneficence; and, being proud of this, now depreciate other clergy who were unable or unwilling to make such foundations and the like.”

Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787) in “Canon 5 and supplemental note” in History of the Councils of the Church, Volume 5; by Charles Joseph Hefele, 311.

I shot this header photo of the seventh of the seven councils in the cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv of this council. A primary topic of this council was the adoration of iconography.

Notice in the photo the presence of many images and icons. The council determined that icons should be treated with respect and veneration but not adoration, which should be reserved for God alone.

1. Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325)
2. Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)
3. Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)
4. Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
5. Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553)
6. Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680)
7. Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787)

Sadly the council also had to deal with issues like simony. People were using wealth to locate positions in the church structure. Simony got the name from Simon who engaged this practice in the biblical text above.

But does simony happen in our church and ministry settings today? In my global work, I hear it take many forms. For example, wealthy people may appear virtuous and demonstrate beneficence sometimes do it to receive power in return.

Remember when Barnabas sold land and set the funds at the feet of the Apostles implying that the gift did not aim to control the saint but contribute to their needs. I see the desire for control through giving in many places.

I also hear of the expectation of bribes. People in many cultures cannot even be considered for a position of service without paying a bribe to get their proverbial application into the hands of those who may give it consideration.

Ultimately, the council notes show that such behavior depreciates or devalues those who walk with integrity and exhibits pride and idolatry. Their spirit reveals the pride and their actions expose their idolatrous thinking.

Control, pride, and idolatry are three temptations Jesus resisted in the wilderness. We must resist them too. I wrote about this in The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes. Reply if you want a free PDF copy.

Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may grant me passage until I arrive in Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress and for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the gracious hand of my God was upon me. Nehemiah 2:7-8

“The keeper of the archives, George of Constantinople, now presented a third codex, which in the meantime he had found also in the patriarchal archives, and swore upon the Holy Gospels that neither himself nor any other, with his knowledge, had made any alteration”

Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680-681) in “Notes from the Ninth and Tenth Sessions” in History of the Councils of the Church, Volume 5; by Charles Joseph Hefele, 148.

I shot this header photo of the sixth of the seven councils in the cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv of this council. This council was sorting out heresies so they called for codices from the keeper of the archives.

1. Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325)
2. Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)
3. Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)
4. Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
5. Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553)
6. Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680)
7. Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787)

I love this term, keeper. It’s a synonym for steward.

Just as Asaph was the keeper of the king’s forest, George was the keeper of the archives, the books and manuscripts that recounted history of the church in Constantinople. He played a pivotal role in the discussions by accessing important information.

His work was likely and largely mundane. We can envision a modern day librarian who may know how to locate thousands of books that may only be called for on rare occasions. But he or she knows right where they are!

Of what has God made you keeper? How might your role, which often might seem boring or meaningless actually play a key role in the big picture of mission? Ponder this with the LORD as you aspire to generous service.

When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments. 2 Timothy 4:13

“At the tenth session, March 18, 681, the rich collection of patristic and heretical passages for and against Dyothelitism presented by the Roman envoys was unsealed, read, compared with the copies of the works quoted which were found in the patriarchal archives at Constantinople, and discovered to be correct and unfalsified. These were, in the first series, extracts from Leo the Great, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria, Epiphanius, Gregory of Nazianzus, pseudo-Justin, the Emperor Justinian, Archbishop Ephraem of Antioch, Anastasius of Antioch, and John of Scythopolis.”

Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680-681) in “Notes from the Ninth and Tenth Sessions” in History of the Councils of the Church, Volume 5; by Charles Joseph Hefele, 142.

Again, I shot this header photo of the sixth of the seven councils in the cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv of this council. Emperor Constantine IV (pictured above) summoned this gathering in Constantinople.

1. Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325)
2. Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)
3. Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)
4. Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
5. Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553)
6. Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680)
7. Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787)

This council was sorting out heresies so they called for a rich collection of books to study together. Needless to say they did not have the internet back then.

Yesterday morning, my wife, Jenni, had a friend come over to walk together. After their walk, Jenni showed her around our new home, including peeking into my office.

Her friend commented about liking my bookshelves. Paul had his parchments, this council had their rich collection, and I have my books.

The notes from this Council were not very interesting to me. But I did appreciate how the bishops gathered the writings they needed to help clean heresy out of the larger Church.

What’s the lesson related to generosity? God resources us to have funds for giving, but He also supplies so we have funds for getting the tools we need for serving His Church, like books.

What giftedness do you have for serving others in the name of Jesus? How might you use the resources He has given you not for self-indulgence but for strengthening your service.

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27

Remember, the main work of the Second Council of Constantinople was to confirm the condemnation issued by edict in 551 by the Emperor Justinian against the Three Chapters (or three heretical groups).

I located this section which shows how those in authority wanted to keep the Church pure and unified. Notice, they anchored to the work of the Council of Chalcedon, which affirmed the earlier creeds and canons.

“After issuing this imperial edict, a great conference was held in the residence of the Pope, the Placidia Palace. Greek and Latin bishops of different neighborhoods, and the priests, deacons, and clerics of Constantinople, were present. Even Theodore Ascidas was present.

Both Vigilius and Dacius of Milan warned them against receiving the new imperial edict; and the former, in particular, said: “Beseech the pious Emperor to withdraw the edicts which he has had drawn up, and await the (projected) ecumenical decree on the matter in question, until the Latin bishops, who have taken offence (at the condemnation of the three chapters), shall be either personally present at a Synod, or send their votes in writing. If he should not listen to your petitions, then you ought to give your assent to nothing which tends to a rending of the Church.

If, however, you should do so, which I do not believe, you must know that, from that day, you are excommunicated from the apostolic see of Peter.”

In a similar sense spoke Bishop Dacius of Milan: “I and a part of those bishops in whose neighborhood my church lies, namely, from Gaul, Burgundy, Spain, Liguria, Æmilia, and Venetia, testify that whoever assents to those edicts, loses the Church communion of the bishops of the forenamed provinces, because I am convinced that those edicts infringe the sacred Synod of Chalcedon…”

Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553) in “Section 264” in History of the Councils of the Church, Volume 4; by Charles Joseph Hefele, 278.

Again, see the mural in the header photo I shot in the cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv of this council. Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople sits presiding over the council which seemed to clean up messes.

1. Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325)
2. Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)
3. Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)
4. Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
5. Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553)
6. Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680)
7. Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787)

Today’s post highlights how they dealt with a mess that aimed to divide them. They stated this message plainly to bishops “you ought to give your assent to nothing which tends to a rending of the Church.

This is an interesting use of the idea of giving. Yesterday they reminded the bishops that each would have to “give an account” and today they must “give their assent” to nothing divisive.

This gets to the heart of the Scripture today. One form of giving is doing good when it is within our power to act. Let us resolve to do this where God has placed us so that our generosity preserves the Christian faith and strengthens the church.

Do good, and as far as it is within your power, help to preserve the integrity of the Christian faith and the unity of the church for the advancement of the gospel in our generation.