Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7
I once worked with a “stewardship elder” who demanded that I give $1000 more beyond my annual giving. I felt badgered and stalked. And I was the pastor.
True story: I was both reluctant and under compulsion when I wrote that check. It literally made me feel sick because HH and I could not afford to give beyond our pledge. The weird thing – for pastors – is that I was giving money to fund my own salary. (That’s fodder for a different post.)
I love giving money away 99.9% of the time. I love playing Santa/angel/fairy godmother. We had two extra movie tickets to “Coco” last week and I loved searching for people who might love to receive free tickets. (Young couple with children? Bingo.)
Today we have a unique opportunity to make an impact for good. Someone Somewhere has deemed this day Giving Tuesday and we have this one specific day to do something good, corporately. When our $25 is added to many other $25 donations, organizations can do so much more than they could do with our single, simple gift.
Don’t give because you have to. Give because we are privileged to do so. Give because it makes us feel even more cheerful after the fact than we felt before.
What do we care about beyond ourselves and our circle of family and friends? Connect with them today and make their work a little more secure.
Need ideas? This is where I plan to start:
Presbyterian Mission Agency – benefitting everything from disaster assistance to ministries supporting the leadership of People of Color and Young Adult Volunteers and Mission Co-Workers.
NEXTChurch – shifting the church we love into the 21st Century.
Interfaith Youth Core – working with college students to make interfaith cooperation the norm.
REBOOT Combat Recovery – supporting veterans who experience PTSD and other post-service issues.
Thank you!
A Church for Starving Artists 