I have been listening to Definitely Not the Opera on CBC radio. This show is geared to a crowd a whole lot younger than I am, but I listen anyway. Today the program is on the theme of giving and it is really interesting. Even though there isn't an overtly spiritual emphasis they did ask a group of grade 4,5 & 6 students whether it is better to give than receive. They didn't note that those words are from the apostle Paul, quoting Jesus. The kids overwhelmingly said that it better to give.
This doesn't always translate readily to adulthood. DNTO interviewed Peter Singer, an American writer who figures that the wealthy should give a third of their income to good causes, those with incomes around a hundred grand at ten percent, and those with modest incomes at two or three percent. When asked about his own giving he said that he is in the one third category, so he literally puts his money where his mouth is.
Our denomination, the United Church, has never insisted on a set percentage of income as a target for members. We have set the bar low and it shows. Year in and year out the UCC ranks in the bottom two or three on the list of denominational per capita giving. Still, some people regularly get annoyed if we actively seek financial support three or four times a year. When we had our Friendship Sunday we could all see the great things we do as a congregation with great community outreach. Virtually everything we do requires support financially and in other ways.
Fortunately there are many people in every congregation I have served who are amazingly generous in every way. Often the folk who are generous with their money are also lavish with their time and talents.
I'm a minister for part of each week but I'm a Christian 24/7, so it is important for me to give even when it stretches me. I have always figured giving is an act of trust.
What do you think?
4 comments:
When a family is making choices between groceries or the gas to get to work, and then is asked to stetch even further it seems to me that the giving is of a different variety. Nothing makes a person feel the presence of inequality quite like a public rekoning of their economic status. There is real shame felt when a person feels as if they cannot give enough. When we begin talking about appropriate percentages it doesn't make sense. The math doesn't work. What is 2% of nothing left over? What is 2% of we had to go in debt for groceries again? If you ask such people if they feel poor, most will be insulted, because usually it isn't poverty, usually it's hard work and sacrifice with not a lot left over, which is very different from poverty even if 2% can't be spared.
There are always some who are in this position and they need to act according to conscience and for the best interests of their families. There have always been some in congregations I have served who are receiving financially rather than giving. They find other ways of making contributions.
For the majority in most middle class congregations this is not the case, and their generosity makes a difference, including for those in tough circumstances.
These uncertain financial times seem to highlight that trust, that even as we give what we are able,rather than hoarding away for tomorrow, there will be enough. Our perception of "enough" is something to ponder in all of this..I remember seeing a sign once which read "enough is a feast" and thinking it profoundly true, although not what might be a common description of a feast. Perhaps a well thought out "enough is enough" mantra might help those of us that truly live in abundance reconsider our priorities with our time, talent and treasures and trust in God's abundance.
Yes Laura, finding our way to "simple abundance" is a spiritual discipline and an act of faith.
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