The teacher of God is generous out of Self interest. This does not refer, however, to the self of which the world speaks. The teacher of God does not want anything he cannot give away, because he realizes it would be valueless to him by definition. What would he want it for? He could only lose because of it. He could not gain. Therefore he does not seek what only he could keep, because that is a guarantee of loss. He does not want to suffer. Why should he ensure himself pain? But he does want to keep for himself all things that are of God, and therefor for His Son. These are the only things that belong to him. These he can give away in true generosity, protecting them forever for himself. (A Course in Miracles, M-4.VII.2)
A key point the Course makes is that giving and receiving are the same. This is true because only the oneness of Love is real. The only thing there is to give is Love. When we offer Love to a brother we are giving It to ourselves because we are only offering It to our one Self. We are united with our brother in that Self. This is why generosity is a natural attribute of our Self. We give Love freely and experience Its blessing in return.
This giving is impossible in the ego thought system of separation. To the ego, giving away must involve loss of what we give. To the ego, giving can be used as a bargaining chip to gain something we value. In commerce we give money to gain something we want. In relationships we look for ways to give attention or expressions the ego calls loving, but with an expectation of a return of something of value from the other person. This is not generosity but bargaining. Within the belief system of separation, it is impossible to see that giving and receiving are the same because everyone is seen as having separate interests.
Through forgiveness we learn to see the truth that our brothers are one with us in Love. We join with the Holy Spirit to give only Love. We answer calls for Love with Love.
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