“Give Until It Helps, Not Until It Hurts.”

Pastor’s Column. “Give Until It Helps, Not Until It Hurts.”
Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Cor. 9:7.

There was once a wealthy man who was not known for his generosity to the church. The annual stewardship drive was underway, and the stewardship committee decided to pay the man a call. Upon their visit, the chairperson of the committee asked the man if the church might depend on him for a significant pledge that year.

The man said to the chairperson, “Did you know that I have a widowed mother who has no means of support other than me?” No, the committee did not know that. “Did you know that my sister’s no-good husband abandoned her, and that she has no support for her five kids other than me?” No, the committee did not. “And did you know that I have a brother who was crippled in an automobile wreck? Other than me, he also has no support for his wife and kids.”

Embarrassed, the committee replied that they did not know about the man’s brother either. “Well,” said the man. “If I’ve never given any of them one single penny, why should I give anything to the church?”

When it comes to how much we give to the work of Jesus’ church, people may advise us to give until it hurts. That may not be very good advice. It would have hurt the man above to give a penny. Better advice might be to give until it helps, which the man was entirely capable of doing. Give until we can see that our giving helps make a difference on Jesus’ behalf, until the good news is clearly proclaimed and lives are transformed.

God loves a cheerful giver (above). I doubt that we get all that cheery when it hurts us. Rather, we are cheerful when our giving helps, when we can see that we’ve helped make a good difference in the lives of others, the work of the church.

Stewardship Consecration Sunday this year at Grace is Sunday, Nov. 22. You can mail your pledge cards in at any time, as well as your Time and Talent surveys, or you can drop them by Aline’s office. But you can also come forward as an act of worship during the closing hymn and place your card in a designated basket.

DJ