October 31, 2006
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Oprah
Oprah gave out debit cards on her show the other day. She gave out $1000 debit cards to her guest. She has given out prizes before on her show. One time she gave out a car to all of her guest.
She gave out the debit cards but there was one catch. They had to give the $1000 to charity. They could pick any charity they wanted to give too. Oprah said she wanted to give her guest the gift of giving. I thought it was funny that a billionaire gave a bunch of poor people a $1000 that they had to give away to charity.
Dear Oprah,
Just give me the car if I am ever on your show.
Your friend,
Dan
Is it more blessed to give than to receive?
Comments (138)
if you got a car.. you’d have to pay the tax. I wonder if you had to pay a tax on the debit card?
second
absolutely.
Third! It’s more blessed because Jesus said it is.
It is more blessed to give.
OMG……well yes it is better to give than recieve..I honestly deep in my heart believe that we are blessed to bless others..TRUST ME…
to give…… oh ….. wow you should have heard what was said about that on the opey and anthony show….. it was hilarious
It depends what you are giving or recieving.
I personally love giving.
-Guru on the Hill
what oprah did is so wrong haha poor audience members…they probably thought they got $1000!!!! and then bam!
yes
both? lol – I’m still a better giver then a receiver though.
that was kinda wierd on oprah’s part…
almost got top 10
i dont know anything about blessed, but i do know i like giving just as much as receiving. it makes me think there’s really no such thing as true altruism, but thats another story.
Trick or treat…
we want both right…
most of the time
so who gets to claim this on their taxes? The audience members or Oprah??
i wonder how many will actually do that, or just keep it…….. I bet more than a few will……..
for the record, it’s reformation day, not halloween, today
yes
Yep!
Yes. And I doubt most of those people were poor. They can afford to take a day off of work to stand in line for tickets, so they must not be worried about making a living.
It sounds like that was a “trick” that Oprah handed out which is typical for her.
The gift of taxation is a gift not worth giving or receiving.
it is more blessed to give than to recieve. but giving people $1000 to spend on charity kind of defeats the point. why didnt she just give the charities the money herself? i think it would have been more caritable to give each person there $1000 no catch than to do what she did.
Not if you’re forced into it. If you do it against your will, it has no merit.
you are definitely more blessed to give than to receive…either because you are blessed to have so much, or you are blessed to be so kindhearted even though you don’t have as much as others.
Live simply and follow Him. (Give)
Yes. But I’d love a car.
both? i’m not sure. on good days, i’m a better giver than a receiver.
It is better to receive oral sex, than to give $1000 debit cards………………MAN LAW
Give the gift of giving??????????????????????????????????????????????
That’s really strange.
that’s pretty funny. and… they’re the same. because if everyone just gave then no one could recieve. so they are equally important.
Yes. But receiving’s nice too.
no doubt
I would keep the full thousand. I’m just selfish that way. Poor people can just get a job.
Give
I used to love Oprah, but I’m liking her less and less as time goes on. Those audience members are definitely not poor…. but I’m sure they could use the $1K more than she could. Giving must be super easy when you are super rich.
It is more of a blessing to receive. Better to give if you’re trying to act blessed
Poor people on Oprah’s show? You must be kidding, Dan. Either that or you have been drinking some pretty strong apple cider. People are not poor on that show. Poor people are people who live in boxes or run down apartments because they can’t afford anything else. Poor is not yuppies who can only afford the small mocachocowhooperdooperlatte and not the medium one. If you have the time and energy to be on Oprah’s show, you have time and energy to find a job.
Oprah should give to 150 homeless people in Chicago – oh wait, people don’t find that interesting.
I am guessing those audiences members bellyached because they had to give away what was never theirs to begin with. Sounds typical.
They say it isn’t realy giving, until you give till it hurts
So yes, giving is better than recieving.
But man.. recieving can feel soooo good. (but it doesn’t last as long as the giving does)
I thought I commented earlier. Heh, depends on the Car.
Absolutely! Besides, who said they were poor?
(unless you mean relative to Oprah….)
yea if those people could afford to even get on the Opera show, they weren’t poor.
More selfish to receive and never give.
give
Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to get $1000, but when I first heard this story all I could think about was, wow, where would I give that money?? I would love to be able to do something amazing with it.
recieving is selfish and greedy, giving is selfless. Which label do you want applied to yourself?
Of course!
Honestly we would like to have both of them, but I would say yes.
perhaps. but i like receiving 47x more.
damn strait I would have hve rather have had the car
depends on what it is : P … i gave a dollar to the breast cancer fundraiser…i felt pretty good. i gave my charity for the day
, its odd though when people give me presents i feel guilty and as if its a waste on me and i dont know why. i think its because im not use to getting alot of things from people.
Yes. Unless it’s head.
to give –totally, but it’s also nice to receive every once in a while.
I also think it’s a great idea to give the $1,000 to people to give away. It’s inviting people to be a part of the process. It’s inventive, and it allows money to seed in to charities or people or things that might be overlooked by regular means. Hey, just my two cents, for what it’s worth.
Yes, it is more blessed.
Yes. And I would really enjoy giving that kind of stuff to a lot of people.
Sure.
give
There are poor people and then there are poor people. I doubt poor people are hoping on planes to go to the Ophra show. Those are just poor people by millionaire standards. Those are rich people to me and I’m not poor by homeless peoples standards. And to complicate it even more the homeless aren’t that poor. If they know how to work us poor people at street coners. Some of those poor people clear more tax free money than I take home in a year. That makes the poor people rich. I say give a millionaire a thousand bucks. They are the only ones who can’t find a rich person to take money from.
cha
i love picking out and giving gifts to other people; i love to see the smile on their face when they like what i got them. it makes me feel good… that’s not to say that i don’t like getting presents too.
Oprah is sort of retarded.
Oprah also gave everyone Sony HandiCams — They had to record who the money went to. They could give it all to one charity, or a dollar to a thousand people…I thought it was a cool idea.
And for the record, Eric, while today is the day Martin Luther posted his theses…It’s Samhain.
cars no one could afford the taxes on.
Only when you are comfortable in life and can afford to give away the money. The question is, is it worse to give or to fill out the tax forms?
That sounded more cynical than I thought it would. It is more blessed to give than recieve, but it could be painful in this situation if you were trying to make ends meet and you had to give away $1000.
My teacher said something about how it’s better to give than to recieve… she was talking about candy because half of my class (all Freshman in high school, mind you) raised their hands to go trick-or-treating, and like 5 people raised their hands and said they were passing out candy… silly teachers and their tangens.
Is it better to give than to recieve… that’s what the authority figures teach us, right?
Unfortunately all those people who got the free car still have to pay taxes on its full price. Kinda the hidden catch of winning something expensive.
I think it is. But I would like to receive some of that chairty. Ahhh yeahhh!
it was a nice thought but she had people on earlier in the show that were living in filthy apartments that had no hot running water and she was like “okay! well thanks for coming on the show!” wtf? give them some freaking hot water or something, genius!
Yeah, I think it is. Happy Halloween, Dan!
It is if you give with the right mind.
Meaning, giving from the heart and not just to show off.
That was cheesy…and wrong. The gift of giving comes from your own pocket with earned money & a private choice. It sounds like Oprah was just patting herself on the back.
Dear Oprah,
I have been wanting to be on your favorite things show for years, If I was in the audience for the $1,000 bucks I would multiply it and give it away per my insructions. So as you can see i am a good person, and need the cool electronics you give out. A car would be fine too. Or a house.
give =)
it’s secretly selfish, cos seeing your loved ones light up because of what you did is really rewarding hehe
Definately give.
It’s what Jesus Christ did on the Cross – He gave His very life, so that I might know eternal life.
John 3:16 (One of, if not the most popular verse in the Bible) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His One and Only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Looking for wisdom, go to God who “gives generously to all, without finding fault.”
I serve a God who gives. He wants me to become more like Him. Giving is by far better than receiving.
i’d rather give the 1,000 dollars to myself.
according to the Word…yes
Have you experienced this?
No joke, I actually like giving better than recieving. Gets me all warm and fuzzy inside.
Better to give than to receive.
i would’ve spent it! haha.
It’s blessed to give when you can afford it.
depends on what you’re giving or getting. I hate to admit it, but I’d feel very blessed giving someone a can of okra.
yup!
You must remeber… the last time she gave the cars out, those people had to spring for taxes and insurance. So in essance, you would be paying for the car anyway. Here’s the deal, I’ll start a “charity” and then you can give the $1000 to me.
It’s more blessed to give, but it’s more fun to receive!
I love to give… MORE than getting. (I think I have most everything I could want)
If I had a $1000 I would give to pets… people already have too much. Animals don’t usually carry wallets for thier money nor do they have pockets for their wallets… (you following me?) Pets need people… so I would give money to pets. Go ask someone else to give to kids with cancer… who will give to the homeless kitties? Me! Thats who! Hahahaaa!
AND that Oprah gets a lot in return for this kooky stunt- like a LOT of free publicity! WHAT a PR gig! Uuugh!
Okay- I need to go to bed- I am in a candy coma. Damn Halloween and that tempting chocolate!
XoxoxoX
Jane
i like reciving but giving is preety awosome
opra kinda weirds me out
Xx-Nicole-xX
It is if you are giving out of your own heart. If someone is forcing you to give, then you won’t get the same feeling. Also it isn’t their money so they aren’t giving up anything.
equally both when u give u do recieve
It’s better to give…but I don’t see much blessing in basically giving away someone else’s money.
i like giving
i like giving
Of course; that’s a given. The real question is ‘is it more giving to give the gift of giving’?
yep
Hmm… do you really think they were poor? I guess that’s the biggest detail I need to know to figure out if I agree with her little ploy or not.
that’s funny
Definitely
Giving is more blessed.. But, receiving sometimes feels pretty darn good, too.
Christy
Give but receiving is better on your part.
Giving feels so good!
to give although sometimes it’d be super hard to give some things….
I’ll take the car.
A bunch of poor people?
Goodness, there is no poor Oprah audience member like the poor that need the money more.
Depends on how down and out you are… I think for the majority it is better to give, but there are many who need so badly that i think receiving would be the warmer of the two.
I find it quite fulfilling. Giving doesn’t have to come with dollar signs. I don’t have that to just toss around, but I can cook and bake. I find different things to make that might encourage someone, or fill a need. It doesn’t take that much to see opportunities, you just have to be willing to look.
Oh sure.
But I’d much rather be on the receiving end — wouldn’t you?
That sounds like typical Oprah. It made me laugh, too. Some gift xp
by far it is more blessed to give than receive. one of the best things about christmas and birthdays is seeing other people open the things you’ve chosen for them. likewise, nothing makes me as happy as being able to make someone’s day by giving them something they needed and didn’t have, even if it’s just a smile. besides, i’ve got enough anyway
LarsThunder hit the nail on the head 5 pages back – I couldn’t have said it better myself.
well.. i like giving things when i know it will benifit that person/or group of people. but i have to admit, and i know tons of people do this, i like giving best when i get something in return. even if thta means me givnig a quarter and getting a mint.. or something. you know? im all about giving, though.
not if the gift isn’t really from you it’s from Oprah. That’s like when I was three and my mom bought a bunch of gifts and had us pick out which ones we wanted to give her from us. Oprah isn’t getting the present, but it’s not like any of them will really get the warm and fuzzies from giving.
Not from Oprah! I want the stuff!
It is better to give than to recieve. You feel awesome!
*ponders* I wonder if it’s selfish to want to feel like that…
Your heart has to be in the right place.
Depends on whether one expects the blessing in this world or in the world to come.
I enjoy giving enormously. Mostly, I give by tipping. Everywhere I go, whatever I do, I tip well, and yes, I enjoy it.
No shit….I would have been pissed to give away the money….With her kind of wealth, most people in the audience could be considered charity cases…lol
Yes, and anyone who lives on the Gulf Coast will tell you that after last year. I will never forget seeing people line up at the Astrodome here in Houston to help the victims of hurricane Katrina when they were all brought in on busses that night. It was 2am and people who had almost nothing to give, sat in traffic and lined up on the sidewalk for hours, to give what they could. Those that had nothing material to give, gave their time and sweat. One of the most heartbreaking scenes I ever saw, was a woman who took her own child’s bottle and handed it to a mother with an infant in her arms. I saw people standing in lines in stores, buying food with their Lonestar cards and WIC vouchers… so they could take it to the Astrodome and give to people who needed it more than they did. And a few short weeks later, when the city of Houston had nothing left to give, hurricane Rita came… but we were okay. Because we were blessed. Because we *gave.*
To give.
What a stupid trick to play – you shouldn’t make demands on a gift you give to someone else. What a crock.
Giving is better but I kind of feel for the poeple. They probably needed that money.
weird. “i’m giving you money to go spend it on what i tell you that you have to.”
doesn’t really sound like people own the money at any point. it’s like oprah wants to donate to charity, but “i don’t know which one(s) to give to, so i’ll let y’all pick where you think my money should go.”
cheap gift. i want the car.
Yep. That was a good gift.
Both.
I wonder how many of the people actually gave the $1000 to a charity.
prizes suck in the states, because you always need to pay tax
Oprah is a loon.
giving makes you feel better about yourself, you get to pretend you’re a good person for the day. =)
yes totally!
give
Yeah, I guess.
-KrIsTiN-
Yes, it is more blessed to give than to receive. By giving, you get that indescribable feeling that happens only when you do something for someone else. By giving, you receive the joy that comes with it, and the knowledge that you have made a difference. Sometimes, you even see the joy in their faces. That is more than enough for me.
it must be more blessed to give than to receive. By being content with giving, you have already receive the best gift, the gift of giving. Having this heart is the first thing you need to follow what Jesus taught us, to love. And by giving, you may receive joy from other people, and also the reward of God.
When you have very little, to be able to give is a blessing so rich it is not easily compared.
no
I feel more blessed when I give. I love giving people things…it lets them know I care about them & that I’m thinking about them