Luke 6: Giveaway!
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If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
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A common Native belief is that we make ourselves sick when we try to hang on to things we do not need. Giving is good for the soul. Real wealth is not how much you can keep, but how much you can give.
Some of the most famous giveaway ceremonies took place among the Totem Pole peoples (Tlingit, Salish, Haida, and others) of the Pacific Northwest. These events, called potlatches, might go on for days—sometimes weeks!
The potlatch host would spread a banquet so lavish and give away so many gifts, that they might be destitute by the end of the ceremony. No matter—for each of their guests was honor-bound to invite them to potlatches, where they would try to give even more.
By giving away all they had, the potlatch hosts were guaranteed to receive even more. Giving made them rich.
American authorities outlawed potlatches.
Why? Well, it’s just too hard to tax people when everyone keeps giving everything away. Like Caesar Augustus in Luke 2, the government still wants to keep track of us so it can tax us.
God is still calling you to give away the things you do not need. Render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, but give away what you can. It makes your soul healthy, and it makes Caesar nervous.