You can give someone anything — as long as they don't ask for it. This episode is about why that is, and what it means to give freely when you know it's going to cost you something.

True generosity expects nothing in return. When giving is tied to reward, it becomes a transaction. When it is free, it becomes love.

Mike opens with a confession: he'll give you the shirt off his back, the shoes out of his collection, anything — until you ask. The moment someone asks, his first instinct is that's mine. Corey identifies it immediately: you want to set the terms. That's control. Giving freely is something you can control — the what, the when, the how much. Receiving is something you can't. And that's what makes it uncomfortable for people like them.

Mike takes receiving into unexpected territory — compliments after a sermon. Early on, when someone told him he'd done a great job, he'd hem and haw and redirect it to the Holy Spirit. A pastor friend corrected him: when they're thanking you, they're thanking God, but you're just the physical thing in front of them they can actually say it to. People need that. Receiving without deflecting is its own form of humility.

Corey ties it to why he does the work at all. He used to hate sponsoring guys during his first stint — it took his time, interrupted his life, and he resented it. He does it anyway. Still does. And he knows why now: he gets to be free because other people get to be free too. Faith without works is dead — and Corey shows that it appears three times in the Big Book, once on page 14 in the context of helping others, once on page 76 in the context of steps 8 and 9, and once on page 88 in the context of step 12. The whole program is the work.

Mike closes it: there are people in the rooms who can talk the talk but something is missing, and you can spot it. They're trying to pour out something they don't have inside. When God is actually pouring into you, you have something worthwhile to give. That's the difference.

Find every daily entry at dailyripples.com. Reach out anytime at wave@dailyripples.com.

Daily Ripples is a daily devotional reflection connecting recovery principles with the life of faith. New episodes every day at dailyripples.com.