There once were two men who lived in a small town in the South and who were as different as night and day. So different from each other were they that even their names reflected the variance. Now in this southern town it was the custom to call people by an abbreviated version of their first and middle names. For instance, a person named William Robert Smith would be called Billy Bob Smith. Well, this same custom held for these two men.

The name of one man was Cecil Lester Giver. To the town folk he was known as Cec Les Giver. The other man's name reflected an additional southern custom of using an old family last name as a first name. He was Haverford Benjamin Given, affectionately known as Have Ben Given.

These two, Cec Les Giver and Have Ben Given, had adjoining lots in a comfortable middle class neighborhood. They also were members of the same church. But with these and with the spelling of their names any similarity between the two ended.

Mr. Cec Les Giver was known by everyone in his church and town as a very giving person -- generous to a fault. Each fall during the stewardship campaign he was the one who urged the congregation to give until it hurt. In fact, that was his personal motto, "Give until it hurts." And he did just that. The problem was that his giving hurt those around him. For you see, the more Cec Les Giver gave, the more unpleasant he became and the more determined he was to give even more next year. It was as if there was some invisible force driving him to give and give. Although it seems impossible, the more he gave to others the smaller his love became. Cec Les Giver was far from a cheerful giver.

One other observation must be shared about Mr. Cec Les Giver. While he could and would give to any cause that caught his attention, he seemed unwilling or unable to give anything to himself. Even more striking, he was unwilling or unable to be given anything by anyone else. It wasn't that he had no needs. It seemed he had no ability to receive.

If, as it is said, the person who goes through life unwilling to give is unfortunate, what is to be said about the person who lives his whole life unable to receive? I can't be sure, but I have wondered if this inability to receive was not the cause for Cec Les Giver's distrust and disdain for his neighbor, Have Ben Given. You see, Have Ben Given had no problem receiving gifts and enjoying them. He was a recent widower. So people from the church and neighborhood frequently delivered casseroles and cakes to his door.

Whenever gifts came to his door, he greeted them with joyful thanks. That meant a lot to the givers. Have Ben Given had an uncanny way of making everyone who helped him feel good about their help. Those who knew him well described Have Ben Given with two words: joyful and thankful.

Of all the causes to which Cec Les Giver gave, Have Ben Given was not one of them. When his wife suggested that they invite their neighbor for a meal, Cec Les Giver vetoed the idea for this reason: "Anyone who would so gladly and continually receive gifts from others must be a lazy, weak free-loader. Hasn't that Have Ben Given ever read in the Bible that 'It's more blessed to give than to receive?"