"Give it all you got"

I had the opportunity to go listen to former President Bill Clinton speak in Chicago yesterday evening.  He was one of the key speakers at a health care policy and administration conference that I was attending.  While I didn't always agree with him when he was President, one thing that I always admired about him was that he was a gifted orator.  He always seemed to know what exactly to say and how to say it.  Well, he hasn't lost that one bit.  It was an awesome, inspirational speech.  He had a lot to say about the current political climate, world events, and of course, health care.  He spoke for about 30 minutes or so, and then he was interviewed on stage for another 10-15 minutes or so.  One of the questions that the interviewer was asked was "Why do you still do it?  Why are you still so involved with your Foundation, with world events, what keeps driving you after all of these years as an ex-President?"  He didn't stop to think one moment, but quickly answered, "The people of the United States elected me to serve as President, but it doesn't stop there.  I continue to serve to give back to the American people."

Giving.  It's a simple word, but it is packed with a lot of meaning.  I once got to meet and talk to one of our local Cincinnati business leaders, Carl Satterwhite, at a United Way fundraiser a few months ago.  Mr. Satterwhite's mantra (it's even on his personalized license plate and Twitter handle!) is "Give to Get to Give."  In other words, the more you give, the better off you are so that you can give even more - it doesn't matter if it's money, time, or talent, you "give to get to give."  When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.  And I suspect President Clinton would agree.  He has lived his life as a public servant, which afforded him even more opportunities to serve.

Apparently, Mr. Satterwhite's mantra comes directly from the Bible.  St. Paul wrote in his second letter to the people of the city of Corinth (2 Corinthians 9:6-14):

My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously...And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work...You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion...

In other words, you "give to get to give"!  But that's not all of it.  The Bible teaches us more on this, this time in Luke 12:48:

To whom much is given, from him much is expected.

Even if your not familiar with the Bible, you have probably heard at least a version of this admonition, which basically says, "Whatever you are doing, give it all you got."  Even if you didn't vote for him or agree with him, I think that you would agree that President Clinton has done a lot for the people who elected him President, both during the time he lived in the White House as well as the time afterwards.

So I leave it with this.  Give so that you can give more.  And give it all you got.