In the book God So Loved, He Gave, Justin L. Borger shares a story about a homeless woman who lived under a bridge in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. After providing Tammy with some basic hygiene supplies, he didn't hear from her for a few weeks—until she called and said that she had been raped. After Borger brought her to the hospital, Tammy started attending Borger's church. The church also started providing vouchers so she could buy food and other items.

But Borger said that created a problem: Tammy kept giving the vouchers to other people. Borger told her, "Tammy, you need to keep this for yourself. Otherwise you'll run out of food." But living under the bridge meant living with other needy people, and it was unthinkable for her to receive a gift and then not share it with others. So with an incredulous stare she asked Borger, "Why can't I give some too?"

Borger writes:

I found myself taken aback. Why shouldn't Tammy be allowed to give some of what she'd received? Wasn't that exactly what I was doing? I paused for a moment. But then I gave her a very pragmatic answer: "We're giving this to you, not to everyone else you meet." Yet, I recognized the deeper problem: to only receive and never give back is to be belittled—to be humiliated. Over time, I had begun to think of Tammy as a kind of pet project in which I was always the giver and she was always the recipient … . But the good news is that God not only made us to be recipients of his grace but also participants in the movement of his own generosity.