Does Giving Really Work?

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

You be the judge.  Here’s a story that’s true, it happened to me just this week.

I am serving with my family, were packing back packs with food packets for inner city school children in Kansas City KS and MO, and after we finished help pack 400 plus back packs with food to get the kids through the weekend an announcement was made that 80 dozen Christmas cookies were needed to throw a Christmas party for some of these same kids.

80 dozen cookies is a lot and immediately I thought of Costco and a couple boxes of Oreos.  A few days passed and while at Costco I saw my prize and boy was it cheap, for less than 10 bucks I could get like 7 dozen cookies.  I made a quick call to my friend Bill to make sure he was good with Oreos and then the bad news; no go with Oreos, they needed to be Christmas cookies, you know, shapes, frosting, sprinkles, the whole 9 yards.  Costco wasn’t going to cut it.

A day passed, then I figured I needed to go into action so I set out trying to get 80 dozen Christmas cookies donated, after all it is a worthwhile cause. 

Grinch’s.

Walmart, Price Chopper, the whole lot; if we donate to you, we have to donate to everyone.

Fine.

I look at Nathan and then I consider my heart and my attitude and next, well I start loading up the cart.  10 dozen at Price Chopper, I cleaned them out.  Next stop, Walmart.  Walmart had what seemed like aisles and aisles of Christmas cookies, why hadn’t I come here first.  4 or 5 Dole Banana boxes filled up with dozens upon dozens of Christmas cookies, I was living a dream.

I felt like buying the remaining 70 dozen then and there but I held off and just got another 60 dozen because I wanted others to be able to get in on the fun.  (I know, I hogged most of the fun, but when it’s fun it’s hard to stop.)

Did I miss the cash?  Not really, in fact it was actually liberating to spend the money knowing that there are over 400 inner city kids who are going to enjoy a cookie this year and many of them may or may not have any presents under the tree this year.  Sure it’s just a cookie to us as adults but trying telling that to a kid, no better yet, trying taking one from a kid who hasn’t had one for a long, long time.

Now for the part which blew my mind even more, as I left the parking lot, I explained to Nathan, my 5 year old, the power and the value of giving and that if our heart and our wallet are open to God and we give abundantly, well, God can abundantly give back to us.  2 hours later the abundance came, someone gave me a check for 5 water projects in India.  You do the math; it’s quite a return, quite a blessing, quite a God thing.

Give, there’s no better feeling, especially when your heart is right!

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A New model for giving

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

For the last several weeks something has been working itself around inside of me and now it is beginning to take shape.  I imagine this has been inside for a long time and now I am just beginning to realize it’s there and I want to do something about it.  I would also guess that this has been deep within for at least 44 years; probably because God put it there after all I now realize it is part of who He is and thus it’s in my DNA.  Why?  Because, me and you, were all made in His image and so it shouldn’t be all that surprising that these things are beginning to surface; I guess it was just a matter of time.

For me, when God does something new or strategic, it takes a bunch of other things to begin to run together, a lot of stuff begins to happen which brings a theme to mind for which I finally begin to pay attention too and then it seems God brings me to my knees and shows me how far away I am for the truth He is wanting to show me.  Translation – I hit my knees and I sob, not just shed a few tears but sob, because my heart recognizes how far I am from where God is on a particular matter and there is something that I need to do.  I need to repent and run back to Him and embrace this part of Him, His nature and His desire for me to embrace what He is showing me.

This type of thing has happened over and over again and so I take notice when He communicates and after these times alone with Him I get a new perspective and a fresh voice about whatever it is that He shares with me.  It also brings about a new momentum for me and God willing propels me forward into His heart and plan not only for me but for the whole world.  After all God’s heart is for me, my family and for the whole world, so my heart should be likewise.

Let me now share with you what’s on my heart and what I sense God is sharing with me for others, for the church, a prophetic message of sorts……

For God so loved the world that He gave, His 1 and ONLY Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

How often have I heard this, recited it, shared it, and even proclaimed it?  To the point of noxiousness, however the reality is that this one scripture so accurately sums up the entire gospel message which enabled me to be captivated by Christ and his love to the point of my freedom.  Freedom from sin and death, freedom to live life for someone other than myself, freedom to be real and honest; yet with all this freedom I haven’t appropriately shared it.  I don’t know why but the entire gospel message or story was meant to be shared, after all isn’t that what happened over 2,000 years ago in the desert land of Judea when the angels appeared in the sky proclaiming the good news of the coming birth of the Savior of the world and didn’t this message cause others to go and see this wonder?  After seeing, they went and shared with others what they saw; truly the gospel message is deserving of being shared.

What I am not talking about is mass evangelization or a method, technique, book or program which must be learned to be shared but I am talking about something as easy, plain and basic as just being you; being honest, real, and transparent with others – those you know and those you don’t with who you are and with whom you belong.

Who are you?  Whom do you belong too?  Questions that you must know the answer too.  Only you can answer these questions.  For me, I know who I am but more importantly I know whom I belong too.

 I belong to God and resultantly I have a responsibility to Him to be real, honest and transparent.  Let me say it this way, as one who follows Christ, I have a duty to share the love and plan of God with others.  I do this verbally; I do this with my life in acts of action, charity and service.  I do this overseas, I do this next door, and I do this in my community, my church, my kid’s school, the grocery store, the mall.  I do it everywhere. 

Why?  Because anything less is selfish.  My life, your life has been given to you by God.  What are you going to do with it?  Are you going to waste it?  Spend it on yourself?  Maybe, and if you chose this, then most likely you are going to experience pleasure for a time and yet at some point that pleasure will turn dull and you will look for something else to fill that empty spot.  The problem is you will keep searching and filling and yet that empty spot will never really get filled, then one day you will die and that empty spot, that void which went unfilled will be your downfall.

Alternatively, you can recognize that there is more to life than feeding ourselves.  You can recognition that gaining the whole world involves sacrificing your soul and it just isn’t worth it when you consider that your life is probably a short 80 to 90 years if you are lucky and when compared to a billion plus infinite years of eternity, your life span is pretty small as is mine so why not live for eternity?

You may not agree with me and think that this is just Christian nonsense and if so, that’s too bad because despite your rejection it doesn’t change the truth of the fact that there is only one life we all live and we have that life, our only life, to get eternity right.  We get it right by finding the grace and forgiveness of God and accepting what He has to offer us.  Without this there is no life, no future, only death and an eternity of that.

Turning back to what is brewing inside of me, the notion of being a “life” on display not for people to look at and proclaim “what a great guy” but for the purpose of being used by God and a visible witness to others that a broken, flawed, sinful person like myself can be changed, forgiven, accepted, set free to the point that my life is better than before.  What I am trying to communicate is why are we, me, so bent on keeping what God has done and what God wants to do through us, wrapped up, closed up and only revealed when we feel it is safe and in our best interests?  Why is it that we feel our faith is a personal thing and is not to be shared?  Why are we so concerned about what people might think of us if we open our mouth?  Why are we so stingy with our time, our schedules, our homes, cars, money, and possessions that we turn a blind eye or deaf ear to those around us? 

It is evident to me that our world, our society, our country, our city, our neighborhood, our schools and even our churches are broken. 

I have no formula to fix this brokenness and when I think about the global issues that demand our attention, clean water, poverty, sickness, disease and famine I can get overwhelmed and this doesn’t even take into consideration what it is taking place in Iran, Iraq, or Afghanistan and the threats there.  Yet, even with all these challenges that seem insurmountable I must remember that through human systems hope is not possible.  I must look to God.  We need His intervention and it is only through His plan that any of this will work out.

What then is the plan?  Scripture tells us, go read about it.  Where, that is up to you to figure out, I know but then if I told you, you  wouldn’t pick up a Bible and scour it, so go scour and don’t put it down until you find the answer.

Practically speaking then how do we do it?

We open our lives up to God and we become willing to be used by Him.  We all play a part in His plan of intervention to change society.  We all bring the transformation that God desires for the world into the world.  We do it by being open, transparent and honest with those around us.  We do it by telling God we won’t live life for our self but for Him and thus when He shows us someone that needs a touch, a dollar, a helping hand, a hug, a smile – we give it.

I think this is called Compassion and I think this is what God had when He saw broken humanity and that is what lead Him to leave Heaven and come to earth as a man, sacrifice himself for us, so that one day we might believe and live.

John 3:16

The thing that has been brewing in me for so long is this notion of compassion.  Compassion that leads me out of my comfort zone and says to God, ok use me to intersect another’s life that needs your touch.  I don’t go around looking, I allow God to send me out on mission to touch those lives that He brings me. 

So is there a danger in this?  Maybe but more importantly the danger is in not doing this. 

Think with me, here you are, you have Jesus in your life, he did all this stuff for you, your full of him and you just sit there.  Worse, you go to church, you worship, you pray, you give some money in the plate or box at the exit and you think you are a good Christian.  Truth be told, you are far from what a Christian life as exemplified in the New Testament was like.  Worse yet, in the Old Testament this person was not in God’s good graces in fact He really didn’t like these self professed God believers at all because despite being “religious” they withheld justice, mercy, compassion from the very people He was interested in helping.  Same deal in the New Testament, these religious leaders were really just that religious and full of hypocrisy, fortunately though there were some folks who were so consumed and transformed by their encounter with Christ that their new found faith released them from life’s inhibitions and as they saw they gave.  The book of Acts has several stories of these wonderful people; their life was characterized by how they gave of their time, money, and their possessions, oh, and let’s not forget their lives.  What was the end result of their life of sacrifice, service, and their life of giving? 

Life that lasted an eternity, the promise that the Kingdom of Heaven was reserved for them, word of their generosity spread, people became converts and left their formal way of living, Christianity spread like wild fire.  Not bad in my book and totally worth the sacrifice.

2009, today, many of us though have wandered a long way away from this New Testament model of what a Christ follower is to look like and even act like.  We give an hour or two during the week and then we go about our business.  The whole notion of literally giving away our life just doesn’t work for most of us.

We put on a good face though, some of use might even given an extra hour during the week but when it comes to our daily life lived beyond the view of those at church, our real self, which is exposed when we rise and when we fall, our self that our co-workers see each and every day, the picture looks a lot different and in fact they might say is no different than their own life.  Where is the transformed life in that?  When even a co-worker when questioned can’t tell or doesn’t know you are any different than them and in fact they might think they are better off than you.

I think Jesus had something different in mind when he came to earth to set us free, when he proclaimed that the good news was about liberating us from the chains of sin and self.  If anything all we have done with his good news is taken the part that we like, the salvation from hell, aka the fire insurance, and left the rest of it to rot.  Truth is it’s us that are rotting.

Thankfully there are those Christ followers who aren’t living life for themselves, they are choosing instead to give their life away in daily service.  One such story I heard today was of a guy who rolled into a gas station at 2am just yesterday morning and saw the gas station attendant smoking a cigarette outside crying like a baby and instead of ignoring him by just paying at the pump he decided to grab a cigar from his truck and sit next to him curbside and not say a whole heck of a lot except show him that he cared.  Turns out the attendant’s best friend just took his life and in his grief he was considering the same course of action.  The dude getting the gas changed all of that by just being there.  Once the smoke cleared he took the guy home, his shift was over, and they watched some TV and seeing that the 8:30am service was just an hour away he took him to church.  End result – the guy gave his life to Jesus.

What did this take?  A few hours of the guys time but more importantly it took the willingness of the guy to say, Jesus, I am yours, use me to intersect the lives of those who need you and God heard his prayer and gave him a soul.  Talk about an exchange; death for life.

I take heart in knowing God is working in this world and in people’s lives like in the story I just shared.  I also know of many others who are choosing to live life this way and as I hear their stories of how God works in and through their lives it makes me realize that these are the real Christians.  These are the folks who are proud of what God has done in them and in turn they are not selfish enough to keep this life change to themselves but want others to experience the hope, joy and peace that comes when God transforms and takes control.

Will life be easy or free from disappointment, heartache, pain, or suffering just to name a few, no but God does promise to walk with you through these things and to help you grow as a result of them.

Life isn’t easy and the world has a lot of problems and yet God wants to do something about that and that is why He has us; now we just need to realize it, embrace it and do something about it.

I leave you with this from Paul the Apostle, it’s his motto for life and one that all Christ followers should emulate as it comes straight from the heart of God and is the reason why John 3:16 even exists –

 “My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” 

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This Christmas Give Water

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

This year, consider giving the gift of water in someone’s honor. If you’d like to make a donation in someone’s honor, please indicate your intentions on the donation form. You’ll receive a card with a certificate to give as a tangible representation of the donation made on their behalf.

Donations can be made via our website on the give page.

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Don’t give

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

Why is it that the older I get the more difficult it is to think of what I want for Christmas or worse, what to buy others for Christmas.  I know all about lists and for kids, this is easy, in fact just the other day my son was telling me about the toy he just had to have and this came just seconds after seeing it for the first time in Costco.

For those of us however who have grown out of this ability to see something and immediately evaluate where it belongs in our room, house, garage or car, let me offer a simple solution.  Drum roll, ok, maybe it is not that exciting and what I am about to say may prove shocking but here it is – don’t give.

That’s right, don’t give…. at least to the mall, online retailer or store.

Here is the bottom line which I believe we all need to get to and that is: “Why spend money on something that doesn’t add any value to life?

I know that each of us has a different idea of what adds value to something; for some you got to move mountains for value to be added while for others, just a simple personal touch is all that’s needed.  For my sake I want to define my phrase “value to life” as something that extends worth, excellence or importance to a person(s) well being.

I choose to use these words this way because as I read the scriptures and reflect on the entire gospel message which is spelled out in both Old and New Testaments I get the idea that people have huge value and worth, after all we are created in His image and this was for relationship.  Thus human life holds a special value in God’s eyes, just look at all the verses pertaining to justice, mercy and love when dealing with people and relationships, and resultantly then if people are important to God then they should be important to us. 

Provided this is true, and I believe it is, then why aren’t we more engaged in those activities that add value to life?  Not just our life but the lives of others, and if we really want to get technical and pull out the hard hitting, convicting scriptures, we would have to include those people who for whatever reason have no means by which to return the favor or offer any form of repayment.  For it’s in serving or adding value to these people’s lives that really brings a smile to God’s face and as the scripture points out brings a reward in Heaven.

What then of my gifts that I give to those closest to me and to those that I love or love me back the most?  What about all the gift giving and serving and value added activities to them?  Hmmm.  Maybe nothing in the grand, eternal scheme of things.  Sure, it feels good and it creates warm fuzzies inside of us and them but, eternally, nothing happens.

 No transaction in Heaven takes place.

To me, this is sad.

I want to live a life that is producing eternal worth and purpose; I want to spend my life creating multiple transactions in Heaven.  I want to do those things which God is pleased with and which reflect His purposes on earth and reveal to others His love, care and concern.

Unfortunately I find this difficult, inconvenient, uncomfortable and worse, at times, not much fun.  Why, because I, like you, am selfish.

My time, comfort, money, and a host of other things is precious to me and I want to be able to choose when and who I express this to so as to receive in return praise, love, a smile, I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. 

I think you, if your are honest, see yourself like me, let’s face it, were all human, we have a sin nature, which at its core is selfish, so let’s just admit it and deal with it.

The best way I know how to deal with this is to attack it head on.

What does that look like and how does one do that?

Well if I was really that good about it I would write a book and give most of the proceeds to the poor, but since I haven’t written a book yet it is safe to surmise that I haven’t perfected this, all I can do though is try and constantly examine my motives for everything I do.

If I examine the motivation and discover it isn’t right, well then, now I can at least make an educated choice, unfortunately though even having a choice doesn’t mean I will always pick what is right and often it is what is easiest that wins out over what is right.  So I keep trying.

Back to don’t give; my take on this all is why give a gift if you are giving it selfishly?  You defeat the purpose of giving.  Sure the person might enjoy the gift but if there are strings attached then it really isn’t a gift; it’s something that comes with an obligation tied to it and if that is the case then I would bet the person receiving would like to have the option of passing on your generosity which isn’t generosity at all but most likely unhealthy attachment.

So just don’t give.

But, if you do decide to give, why not give to someone or to something which you have no control over and won’t bring you anything other than the personal satisfaction that your gift was given in secret with no strings attached and it was for the betterment of life to individual(s) that have no means to repay.  Moreover the gift provides a necessary component for life and without your gift; suffering would continue to exist in one form or another.

Is it possible to give a gift such as money to a cause which seeks to alleviate some form of suffering in the lives of people and to an organization which has a successful track record in managing the gifts so that they positively affect the most good on the greatest number of people they are trying to reach?  I think so, no, I know so.  There are countless organizations out there that are small in size and yet reaping tremendous results because they are properly run and managed and are meeting real needs like water, medical care, food, shelter, etc., touching those affected by HIV/Aids, those considered outcasts of society, orphan children or lepers.

These are the people we should be considering this Christmas and throughout the year when we want to give a gift that makes an exchange in Heaven and causes a smile to break out across our Lord’s face. 

Where are these organizations?  Email me and I will let you know.  In the interim, mine is one of them and you can get in on the action by visiting our website, www.wellsforlife.org and Donating Now.  90% of all gifts are used on program expenses of making a difference in the lives of India’s poor and suffering.  Whether it be in the provision of water or in providing micro loans or food to orphan kids, lepers or those with Aids, you can give and make a difference with no fan fare, just the simple knowledge that you gave freely and without guilt.

Now, one last thing, you can give to Wells for Life and be like the rich person in the Bible who gave out of his abundance for all to see and exclaim “what a generous person that guy/gal is”, well if that is the case then, yes, we will use your money but will it have the impact in Heaven like the small generous gift of a 5 year old who after hearing stories of the suffering being experienced by others because they lack safe water, gives the lunch money in his pocket? 

Probably not.

So, for the sake of eternity, for this person I say, don’t give.

For the rest of you, well, only you know you and if you are anything like me, we have a long ways to go to being like the poor widow who gave all she had without concern for what lay ahead.

If only all of our giving was this pure.

Something to think about when you ar going over that Christmas list.

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