The Unbelievable Science Behind Generosity and Wellness

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I'm your host, Dr. Axe, and each and every week on this show, we dive deep into the science and principles behind how to grow in body, mind, and spirit and take your health and your life to the next level. If you truly want to take your life to the next level, then there is a virtue that we all need to build and grow.

And if we can do this, it leads to more happiness, more health, more impact, more growth in life. If you want to be a person that's a leader, a better parent, a better person in your community, somebody that just is living the maximum life possible, you get the end of your life and you say, I ran a good race. My life has meaning, my life has significance.

Today, I'm gonna be diving into a practice and a characteristic that allows people to overcome mental health issues, boost their happiness, their overall, overall well-being, and just generally live an impactful, meaningful life.

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Well, Anne Frank says this, no one has ever become poor by giving. And the virtue of generosity, that is giving more, has been practiced by the world's most successful people. Now, the world's definition of success tends to be, you have a lot of money yourself, and you also have a lot of fame yourself. So it's fame and it's fortune.

However, when you read the Bible, when you read the ancient texts of people like the Stoics or some of the most virtuous, impactful people that have ever lived, they've all had something in common, and that is they were generous.

You know, when I think about the people, and I want you to do this for a minute, think about the people that have most impacted the world for good, not just impacted the world. I'm not talking about Hitler or— Alexander the Great or Genghis Khan. I'm talking about the people that have done the most good in this world. Okay?

I'm thinking to myself, people like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Florence Nightingale, uh, Saint Francis of Assisi, uh, Saint Teresa of Avila. These are people, and of course Jesus and the apostles and the prophets that we, we hear about in the Bible. These are the people that have had the greatest impact on the world.

If you go and examine all of their lives, all of them were extremely generous. They were generous with their money. They were generous with their time. They were generous with using their gifts and skills God had given them in order to bless and serve others. And so if you can embrace this principle of generosity, which, by the way, it is so hard today because here's why.

We tend to compare ourselves to others. And you're sitting there looking at your neighbor or even looking at your parents and where they are financially, and you feel like, well, I need to be there. I need to be in that place in life. And if they have a Porsche, I need a Porsche.

Or if they have a bigger home or a second home in Florida or whatever it is, that you have to have that same thing yourself. And so what we tend to do is that perception tends to cause us to hoard and store money for ourselves rather than giving it to the other. Giving it to others. And I want to also share this principle with you.

If you truly want to be successful and also be wealthy financially, you need to give more. You need to be more generous. It's the principle of rather than storing, it's investing. You're investing, you're sowing seeds. Again, this principle we hear about in the Bible of sowing and reaping is real, which I'll get into in a minute.

And so today on this episode, I'm going to dive into the science of how to be generous. And listen, it's not just with your money. It's— I'm also going to teach you how to do this with your time, with your talents, with your resources, and other things as well, so you can reap a larger harvest.

And by the way, this principle I'm sharing with you, it allowed me to experience greater financial success than I ever dreamed possible. Okay? While also giving more to charities and mission-driven organizations and people in need than I ever thought I would be able to give in my entire lifetime.

And so, I hope that this episode allows you to learn how to do this from people that taught me how to do it. And so, you have greater wealth to give to others and make a bigger impact in the world and live a life that's more meaningful.

So, Matthew 6:19-21 says this, do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourself treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is, There your heart will be also. This also comes with a mindset. And I love something C.S. Lewis says. He says something to this degree.

This isn't an exact quote, but I remember him saying something like this as I was reading one of his books. And he says, the people that have done the most in this life— again, the Martin Luther King Jrs., the Nelson Mandelas, the, the people that have done the most. Think most about the next life. Okay? And this is a principle of success.

If you want to be successful, the longer term you think in the future, the more successful you'll be. They've done studies at Harvard.

They've done studies, one called the mushroom— the mushroom study, which I love mushroom studies, but studies on the marshmallow study where if kids could delay gratification and say, okay, I'm going to get 2 marshmallows in 10 minutes rather than getting 1 right now. Okay. If you can, you know, work now and play later, this sort of idea, it leads to greater success.

Well, you can't think any longer than eternity. And so the more that you think about your wealth and your life in terms of an eternal perspective, the way God sees it, the more successful you'll be in life. So, and I would ask you this question right now, where is your treasure? Okay? What is that thing right now when you think about, okay, this is what I want the most in the world right now.

This is something I really want, or the top 5 things in ranking order. What are those things? Okay? Now, people that tend to be very impactful with their lives, it tends to be something like this. Number 1 is something that's very God-focused. Okay? And it's serving others. And then it's things like family and your community and your nation, but it has to do something outside of yourself.

In helping others fulfill their dreams, gifting things to others. And so, if you can do that, that's very helpful. I wanna share sort of where, and by the way, no one's perfect in this. I'm definitely not perfect in this. There are a lot of things I also want for myself, which I believe God also wants you to be blessed and have things that you enjoy and love.

I think he wants you to have a nice home in most cases. I think he wants you to be able to have a level of financial freedom to do the things and hobbies and things that you just really, that bring you joy. Yeah. But also, even more than that, he wants you to grow and become more like him. So sometimes we go through really difficult situations in order to refine us with that.

But it's important to understand one of the most talked about virtues, character qualities, along with love and faith in the Bible, is being generous. And so I want to continue to dive into this topic here. But remember, you want to be thinking with the long-term focus, and you want to make sure that your treasure is the right treasure.

Remember the Bible, they talk about the golden calf that these people created, the Israelites at the time, before Moses, right before or when he was coming down with the Ten Commandments. And we see that just made God furious at that time. And so if you have your priorities, that's what it is essentially.

If your priorities are off, the things that you treasure are off, it's going to lead to misery in your life. And so generosity can help you fix this, focusing on giving to others and making their lives better. Now, I want to go through a few other Bible verses here, and then we're going to dive into the science behind generosity.

Also, you might be interested to know what states, what groups of people in terms of religion and politics and all kinds of other things are the most generous and how that impacts your actual generosity. Proverbs 11:25 says this: A generous person will prosper Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Okay. And it's this idea, you know, do unto others as they would have them do unto you.

It's really a, a, it's really a principle that's related to the Golden Rule in that way. And then, of course, this is one of the most famous on generosity, the most famous verses, maybe my, one of my favorite in the entire Bible. It's 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And when— the way that you should think about giving is you should think about it like you are sowing seeds.

You're out in a field and you're sowing seeds, And then the next year you're gonna go, and the next 10 years later and 25 years later, and you're going to reap a harvest of greater fruit. Think about how little a seed is. You got these little seeds, you throw it in the ground like an apple seed.

Think about how small an apple seed is, and that grows into a massive apple tree that, that can then feed you and others and your family for years to come. That's what generosity is like. That's what sowing seeds is like. So you should be thinking about, how can I sow seeds? Right now to reap fruit in the future. And being generous is the ultimate way of doing that.

Acts 20:35 says this: In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work, we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself. He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And isn't that true? Have you ever given anybody a gift that you spent time really thinking about? It was thoughtful, something that meant a lot to them, and they were so happy.

And so overjoyed that they got that gift. And it was better than getting a gift yourself. We've all experienced that. And that's something we want to not just have happen once a year or once in our lifetime, but on a daily basis. Now, here's the science and research behind giving. Research has shown a strong link between giving and increased happiness.

A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that spending money on others led to greater happiness than spending it on yourself. In this study, participants were given a sum of money and instructed to either spend it on themselves or on others. Those who spent money on others reported higher levels of happiness.

It's so counterintuitive, counterintuitive and paradoxical. We tend to think if I get something, I've got more and I will be happier. But the reality is this: the science shows this, the Bible talks about this. You are more happy, you live a more fulfilled life when you give more than you receive, when you're giving to others.

Now, I do want to mention this: it's important to both give, but it's also important to receive, because there's a percentage of people listening or watching to this right now that are these people, and they Tends to be a lot of moms, by the way, where the mom will give and give and give and give and feel guilty receiving things. There's a guilt around it to where they totally deplete themselves.

In Chinese medicine, I want to point out that that's actually connected with breast cancer. And so part of the breast in in in in the idea of well, this is just just a principle in in all. All forms of medicine. But the breast is really connected to sexual arousal and nursing an infant. So it's nourishing, is part of what it's known for in its, its function.

And so if you're nourishing and nourishing and nourishing and nourishing, and you're never recharging, you're never accepting gifts and grace and love, or you don't have those people in your life, it leads to disease in your body. And so it's very important to understand this.

You need to give a lot, bless others a lot, but you also need to be around people that are loving, that are generous, that are nourishing you as well. So it is better to give than receive. And there is a level of nourishment you give when you give gifts to others. There is something oftentimes returned. And a mom will tell you that.

I mean, I was— right now my wife is breastfeeding Chelsea, our 11-month-old. Oh, that's so sweet. And Chelsea would tell you she's getting something back. Now, scientifically, it's oxytocin. Okay? So if you're a mother that's ever breastfed, there's this sort of bond that starts to happen between this euphoric feeling of being so connected to your infant. And that happens during breastfeeding.

And that hormone— you're actually feeling a hormone release called oxytocin. So the reality is you are getting something in return when you're giving. But you also do need to be careful that you are giving in a way And that the people around you also can live in and appreciate a state of being grateful, and you are receiving some things in return. And you need to be receiving from God.

You need to be receiving from family in your life, because it's hard to give what you're not receiving also. And and so just be aware of that. I did want to point that out. But again, going back to this study, it has shown time and time and time and time again: you are happier, more fulfilled in life, living a life of greater meaning.

When you are giving rather than— even money— rather than receiving. Winston Churchill says this: We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. This highlights sort of the transformative impact around generosity and being a giver in society. Think about that. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

It reminds me of a similar quote by Albert Einstein, and he said something to this degree, is that, you know, the only life worth living is a life in service to others. Okay? It's the most meaningful life of serving others. Here's another study on mental health. Volunteering. So this isn't giving money. This is giving your time.

Volunteering not only benefits the community, but also enhances the mental health of the volunteer. A systemic review and meta-analysis, which a meta-analysis is several studies all brought in together, so it was 40 studies in the BMC of Public Health, found that volunteering is associated with lower levels of depression, increased life satisfaction, and enhanced wellbeing.

I'm thinking about a few of the guys I know in particular, and a few of the women that volunteer at church. I've got my, a friend of my brother-in-law, his name is Dayton, and he, you know, directs the people parking at church. So he volunteers to do that, I think, once or twice a month.

And then I'm thinking of some of the girls I know, of one of my close friends, Dan, and his girls all volunteer at the church and taking care of the younger kids for Sunday school. And they're very happy people. The people I know that tend to be the happiest are the people that volunteer at church, at synagogue, in their local community. Those people are joyful people.

And it's something we don't do a lot today. And listen, a lot of us are kind of waiting. For someone to ask us to help. Just go and do it. Go and seek out giving and volunteering in order to— in fact, the word volunteer is you saying, I'm going to help without being asked to. I mean, that's part of what volunteering oftentimes is in that way. Okay. There are physical benefits, by the way.

If you want to boost your health, engaging in volunteer work also boosts your health. In fact, in this same meta-analysis, Volunteers had a 20% reduction in mortality compared to non-volunteers. So again, hey, you want to lengthen your lifespan by around 20, you know, and decrease your death rate by 20%, then volunteer. It actually leads to a longer life.

And this is often called one of the things that you feel when you're volunteering. There actually are hormones released such as endorphins. And such as a little bit of oxytocin, especially if there's, you know, some sort of, you know, hugging or high-fiving or camaraderie happening with that. And it's actually called the helper's high.

And these positive feelings experienced is a phenomenon where, again, endorphins— these are the body's natural painkillers and mood enhancers. In fact, you ever go for a run and you get a runner's high? Well, it's a very similar thing, a helper's high. Yeah. Same hormone.

Engaging in acts of kindness can lead to a sense of euphoria, followed by a period of calmness and improved emotional well-being. You know, years ago, I went on a mission trip to Africa, and it was such an amazing trip. We went to Uganda and went to Ethiopia, and I was on that trip for about 2 weeks. And looking back at that trip, I was like in a state of euphoria almost constantly.

I remember getting back and sort of missing the feeling of spending more time with God, spending more time with, with, with these kids. We went to a lot of orphanages, and what we'd do is we'd wash the feet of the kids. We'd bring them shoes and gifts. We'd, we'd bring them food and we'd minister to them.

And it was such a— again, it was probably, you know, it was probably the most euphoric I've ever felt over a whole, you know, 2-week period of time.

And so there is something about giving, whether it be going on a mission trip, doing Habitat for Humanity and building houses, or just giving someone a good gift, whatever it is, or again, volunteering to direct, you know, help in parking in the church lot or whatever it is. There's something that is so invigorating and positive about that.

And the thing is, oftentimes we don't feel like we're getting ahead by doing those things, but we are more than anything else you could do in your entire life. One of the issues today is that it tends not to be praised in the traditional media. You know, it's very rare unless you're watching, I don't know, you know, TBN or The 700 Club or Daystar or one of these, you know, Christian networks.

They tend to not highlight it, or if they do on a media network, it's like a 60-second segment, you know, within the, you know, 3-hour, you know, show that's going on. And, you know, those things are not praised. Instead, we're seeing, you know, we're seeing, you know, You know, violence and crime and political turmoil and these things constantly. So it tends not to be praised as much.

But just know, living with that eternal mindset, knowing that God sees— God sees all things, and there's not a single thing that won't be uncovered at the end of time. And so knowing that that time that you spent giving, no one might see it, but God sees. Okay, no human might see, but God sees. And so there will be a blessing and a reward for it in the future.

Also, giving and volunteering— this is really big— it can strengthen social connections and reduce feelings of loneliness. Did you know we have a loneliness epidemic today? So many people today feel lonely. And if you feel lonely for a day, I want to say it's the equivalent of smoking like 15 to an entire pack of cigarettes if you feel lonely.

A study published in a medical journal found that volunteering increased your social connectedness in community well-being. And the participants in this study also found that their mental health was much better compared to other people. So I want to give you some practical ways to be generous via your time, your talents, your character, and even your finances.

And I want to show you what Chelsea and I do and how we practically try and do this. Number 1, volunteer your time. There are so many organizations, especially around the holidays. Consider volunteering at a local food bank, a shelter, a community event, your church, but consider volunteering at your— in your community in some way. Okay? Your time. The next is donate to charities.

Financial contributions, no matter the size, can make a significant impact. It could be a church, it could be a charity, it could be some sort of cause, but Donate. Chelsea and I follow the biblical principle of giving 10%. Okay. And we tithe and we try and give above and beyond that as well. And the reason that we do that is God calls us to do that. We actually don't believe our money is ours.

We believe it's his. And there are Bible verses talking about the first fruits, the first thing that you get, that first 10%, the first thing you should do to go right back to God. So we're even conscious of when I get a paycheck, The first 10% is drawn out and goes immediately to an account that is our giving account that we then give from to charities.

And so, we do at least 10%, but we always do above and beyond that. And I can tell you, I look back at my life, and when I was the most generous, that is when I received the most later on in my life, like in terms of the next season of my life afterwards.

Could have been the next day, could have been the next year, but we had financial blessing come in or something happened in business or something in life. That we never saw, that we never saw coming. Now listen, generosity and giving money isn't like— your only mindset shouldn't be, I'm going to give 10%, I know God's going to give me 20% back. That shouldn't be the mind frame.

It should be out of the joy of your heart. You want to see others blessed. But it's a principle. You— the more you give, the more you'll get. It's sowing and reaping. You do— again, I mentioned this already, you need to picture in your head You're walking through a field, and you've got a handful of grains. It's apple seeds, it's pears.

Think about your favorite fruits, okay, and vegetables and that sort of thing. So, you know, and you're just throwing them on the ground. And then, a year later, and then 10 years later, you're seeing strawberries, apple trees, you know, you're seeing coconut tree, you're seeing, you know, this regenerative food forest growing because you went and threw a few seeds on the ground.

And what that's going to do later on and how you can experience the joy around that. But every time you give, think about that. I also decided myself to try and become a more generous person. When I go out to eat with people, if I'm in a better position in life than they are, and even if I'm not, to be honest, I always pay for the meal. I always do it.

And the reason I do it is just because I want to be generous. God gave me so much in giving his only Son. God is continually blessing me and giving me my life and my health and my amazing family and so many things. I mean, God is the most generous person ever. And so I want to be more like him. And so I try and pay for every single meal we can.

I try and tip well when we're going out to eat, over 20%. I try and do everything I can to give and to give and to give. And I just wanna encourage you that you, again, as Anne Frank said earlier, you will never— no one has ever become poor from giving or from becoming or from being overly generous. Nobody.

In fact, the people that tend to be the wealthiest tend to give more as a percentage, not just because they have more. It's because that's what got them there in the first place is the fact that they were generous. People that are the most successful and also have good character, they're very generous people. Here's another thing I want to say.

So, that's outside of finances, is acts of kindness, simple gestures like helping your neighbor or writing a thank you note or brightening someone's day by giving them an encouraging word. You know, I had a buddy that I went to high school with, and I hadn't seen him since his wedding like 18 years ago. I just saw him in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His name is Brad White.

And I was up in Grand Rapids protesting Kellogg and all the food dyes and things they're putting in their food. And him and I got to grab lunch and hang out for 3 or 4 hours, and it was so fun. I mean, He's just such a good guy. Can I tell you something I remember about him? When we were in junior high, I was in 8th grade, he had a shirt he really liked and he was wearing it.

I'm like, Brad, that's the coolest shirt. And it was like this Oktoberfest 5K run shirt. It was like really thin and soft for those days. And you know what he did? I mean, literally, he goes, you like it? He literally pulled it off his body, gave it to me. And I still remember that today.

It's this idea we've heard of, this idea of you know, giving your shirt, you know, the shirt off your own back to somebody else. He embodied that thing literally in that way. And after I saw him, he sent me a handwritten note and on a card and just said, Josh, it was so good to see you. I love that you're doing so well and all kinds of things and catching up on things with the family.

So, he wrote me this handwritten note. And, you know, the last time I received a handwritten note, I don't know, 5 years before, 10 years before. I mean, it rarely happens, that type of handwritten note. Now, maybe around a birthday. You know, I might get something that's a few lines from a family member, but it was really meaningful.

And so just those simple gestures, writing somebody a text, hey, I'm thinking about you today. How can I pray for you? Or, I'm thinking about you today. Hey, I know God's doing something big in your life. I mean, whatever it is, but implement those acts of kindness. Now, I want to share this Bible verse, and it's one of my absolute favorites. I want you to think about this. Okay?

This is Malachi 3:10. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Go and read and meditate on this verse, Malachi 3:10.

God never says this in the Bible except for here, I believe, and maybe there's a couple other times, but to us directly today in this very same way, Test me in this. God is saying, "I want you to test me." If you give 10% or more, I will throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing there won't be enough room to store it.

And so just know this: if you are living small in life, and this is living small—you're not giving at all, or you're giving 2% or 3%, and you're kind of hoarding and storing the rest for yourself—there are principles by which this world works, and you are keeping yourself; you're blocking. Yourself from being blessed.

Versus if you go and give that 10% or more, God says, I will open the floodgates of heaven. You can picture this just pouring out blessing on your life. It's a principle. God tells Abraham in the Bible, I will bless you so you can bless others. So you just want to— it's a cycle of God gives to you, you give to others, and then it's returned to you in a greater amount in that way.

And so just know that God Promises, if you are generous, you'll receive far, far more than if you're not. So I wanna encourage you to do this. Listen, if you wanna live the most impactful, abundant life possible, embrace generosity with your time, with your talents, and with your treasure.

You know, with our time, Chelsea and I try and do things where we are, you know, taking care of people on a regular basis. Again, that might be volunteering at church. For us, it's doing things like growth groups, leading growth groups. It's something I've done for years that brings me so much joy and fulfillment. So volunteer with your time. Okay? Volunteer with your talents.

One of the things I try and do as well is take care of somebody, a family or individuals on a weekly basis for no charge in order to bless them in their physical health. Writing a plan for somebody, you know, going to lunch with somebody who has cancer, giving them advice, praying for them.

So, so, you know, you want to do that with your, with your talent and your talent might be different than mine. It likely is. But think about what your talents are and how you can use those for good and being generous with those. And then your treasure. You know, like I mentioned earlier, Chelsea and I have 10% automatically go out or more. We try and also just not count.

Just, you know, if somebody needs it, you know, we give, you know, we have somebody going to YWAM, a friend of ours we're going to support this week. And, and Chelsea's got a family member who, He's doing Habitat for Humanity. You know, we're trying to sow into these things in addition to that and hold loosely to money. You know, be, be loose with it.

Again, there, there, there are kernels, there are seeds in your hand that you're supposed to be throwing out and sowing so you can reap a larger harvest in life. So keep that eternal mindset, keep that eternal picture of sowing and reaping. And if you can do that, you are gonna be so blessed by it, I guarantee. And God promises that as well.

I want to encourage you to, hey, share this episode with somebody. There are so many people that actually don't know what the Bible says and what the science says about sowing and reaping and the principles of generosity. These are principles and truths that have so blessed my life. And if people don't know, know it, they're not able to necessarily be blessed in the same way.

So again, we're all called to be generous. We'll end up with a lot more. If we are generous and we're going to live more meaningful, significant lives, which we all want to do. I want to say thanks so much for tuning in here to the show here, the Dr. Josh Axe Show.

Remember, each and every week we're diving deep into the science and principles behind how to grow and take your life to the next level physically, mentally, and spiritually. Again, hey, if you're not subscribed, make sure to subscribe. By the way, every time you subscribe, it allows me to bring on better guests. It allows me to do more episodes. And also, again, thanks so much for sharing.

Thanks so much for being on mission with me. I'll see you next week on the next episode.