Giving With Gratitude
Stop.
Pause and close your eyes. Take a deep breath. As you breathe in, say “God, you are generous.” As you breathe out, say “God, I am grateful.”
Listen.
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. – James 1:17
Reflect.
In worship on Sunday, we continued our series “Renewing Worship” by talking about offering. Sharing our financial gifts has looked different over the past year and a half. While we haven’t yet passed an offering plate in worship, we’ve been invited to text to give, give online, or drop our gifts into a basket on our way in or out of worship. The methods may change but the invitation stands.
No matter how you give or how much you give, I hope you give out of gratitude. I hope you give without any expectation of transaction or return. I hope you give because you want only to praise God and God’s work in the world. Unfortunately, it’s not always the case. So many of us give because we feel guilty and think we must. Others of us give because we think giving will get us even more in return. Still others give not out of abundance but out of scarcity, barely able to part with a few spontaneous dollars here or there.
I do not point these things out to shame or condemn. I point them out because there’s a better, more life-giving, more joyful way to think of our financial giving to the church. We are invited into a life of giving centered in abundance, generosity, and gratitude. As the book of James points out, we celebrate that our gifts come not from us, but from God. We do not hoard what we have, but rather, we share it abundantly just as God does.
In this light, we don’t give out of expectation, transaction, or obligation. We give because we get to. Thoughtfully and prayerfully, we get to consider God’s many blessings and how we will share them. We are invited into an abundant life of faith that reflects God’s glory in joy and hope.
The next time you text to give, or set up your automated giving, or make a stock gift, or just drop money in the plate or the basket, I hope it frees you to celebrate God’s gifts and your valuable place in the work God does in the world.
Pray.
God, I am so grateful for all you’ve given me. Thank you for entrusting everything I have into my care. I rejoice that I get to share your gifts abundantly and serve you powerfully in my giving. Amen.
Carry On.
What events or people stand out in your mind when you think about giving financially to your church? How do they make your idea of giving positive or negative? How will you choose to continue your giving story?