Paying it Forward

The other day I heard a lady say, "I want to repay everyone for what they've done for me." That's nice.

But sometimes we can do more good in the world if we pay forward instead of pay back. Honestly, sometimes the people who help us the most aren't in dire need of repayment. It's a nice gesture to pay them back, but you might do more when you give forward.

If my nephew wanted a toy but he was short three dollars, and so I gave him three dollars--it makes a big difference to my nephew, but to me, three dollars isn't much. My nephew would do more good in the world by paying forward instead of paying me back. So, instead of giving me three dollars, he can give three bucks to the next kid who's short on money.

Instead of always repaying, we should strive to do for others what they cannot do for themselves, just as someone did the same for us.

A few months ago, my mom told me about an elderly man she met who was working at Walmart. In their conversation he explained that he was working to pay for his grandchildren's college education. "Wow, that's really nice of you," my mom said. He replied, "Someone did it for me."

So next time someone does something for you, make a mental note to pass the gesture forward to someone who really needs it.