Scorekeeping is that thing that some people do in relationships to maintain a false sense of power. "I watched her kids two months ago and she hasn't offered to watch my kids so I'm not going to watch hers until she takes her turn." or "I served on the lay committee two years running and it's someone else's turn" or "I offered to buy lunch last time so he should pay this time". Scorekeeping can happen in our interpersonal relationships, our business relationships, or even our church family relationships.
As I've been researching expectations, scorekeeping is a topic that keeps popping up. It's what we expect from someone so that we can give ourselves permission to be loving or to give. I remember feeling this way at times. When I was a child, I wasn't invited to a particular persons birthday party so I didn't invite that person to my party. Sadly, I can also think of times that I've done this as an adult.
The practice of scorekeeping keeps us from our joy and happiness. We should give with a generous heart with no expectation that we will receive anything in return, because our reward is in heaven not on this earth. "One man gives freely, yet gains more:another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty." Proverbs 11:24
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