Alex sat next to me, staring.
He appeared to be mesmerized by the Bible in my hands – my favorite Bible, with verses highlighted all throughout.
He asked to hold it. With every turn of the page he acted as though he had a priceless treasure in his hands.
Confused, I asked him if he had a Bible of his own, he replied with a “No.”
I was shocked.
I thought everyone had a Bible or at least access to one, but apparently not in Belize.
This was my first out of the country mission’s trip and it was a culture shock. I saw poverty like never before and I experienced selfless acts of love more times in that one week than I had in nineteen years of life in the United States.
The selfless acts affected me deeply enough to give away one of the two Bibles I had brought along that day.
Now, a little boy sat beside me holding MY FAVORITE BIBLE. His family could not afford a Bible, so telling him to go buy his own was a waste of breath.
It was in that moment that I knew I had to give away that Bible. The Bible that had taught me so much, the Bible I had spent countless hours reading and highlighting, the Bible that was now in Alex’s precious little hands.
I wrestled with, whether or not to give it away for the entire church service that night. Before the service ended I leaned over and asked Alex if he would like to have it.
His face lit up. His eyes widened, his smile shone, and he excitedly exclaimed he would love to have a Bible of his own.
I made the right decision that night.
To this day, I do not regret giving my favorite Bible away. More than likely that is because when I returned a year later, Alex came running up to me with his Bible in hand and asked me to read it to him.
Tears filled my eyes as a smile pierced my face, while I answered with an “I would be honored too.”
I don’t say all of this to gloat or boast about how amazing I am and you should just act like me.
No, I tell you this story with tears in my eyes because I was a real man in that moment.
I chose to act selflessly, despite my emotions, and show generosity to someone, who I thought could never pay it back.
In the end I was blessed beyond anything I could have imagined, especially had I chose not to give my Bible away.
A real man is selfless.
In what ways have you been selfless recently? Comment below or reach out to me by following me on Instagram @wesleyklittlefield. Don’t forget to sign up to receive these blogs sent directly to your E-mail!