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Day 5 – If only….
I Timothy 6:17-18
Our parish is in the midst of a time of discernment regarding our finances. This week we will write down our pledges and bring them to church and offer them to God during our offering time. It is amazing how little folks want to talk about this. I find it puzzling. We tell stories of our families, we share our struggles, we celebrate our joys, we spend endless hours talking about how to grow our congregation, but few people will open up and talk about money.
In some cultures the amount each family gives is posted in the Sunday bulletin. Wow! That would probably empty the pews in our parish! What would happen if we shared with one another things such as, “I’ve decided to increase my giving by 2%” or “I’ve decided to donate one day a month to working in our parish?” These kinds of conversations are pretty much unheard of because I think we have some false sense that this is being prideful or no one else’s business. We somehow dance around these money issues and are very secretive about finances. I think we would all agree that we want our say about how the church money is spent and are openly verbal about it in our meetings, but rarely do we stand up and share our own faithful stories of blessing and giving.
I am discovering that it is usually out of fear that we hold back – we are fearful someone might find out how much money we make, fearful folks will find out we give little of what we have, fearful folks will find out we are generous, fearful folks will judge our spending habits and way of life. Living in fear stymies us and surely does not enhance growth, change or the power to love.
Let’s make a change. Let’s begin to live generously and start to talk about it! One of my favorite times of our service is the offering because it’s not about me – it’s about God. It’s the one moment when we say, God, here you are – take this gift and multiply it for YOUR good. The mystery of what God may do with it excites me. Oh sure, we pay the bills with it, (my salary included) but every week it seems, a new request comes to the doors at St. Peter’s. I am learning to ask God, “How shall we respond?” It is then that we depend on those monetary gifts and those gifts of groceries to centime to bless whoever comes in the door.”
In today’s reading, the Christians are reminded to “to do good, be generous, ready to share and in so doing, will store up a foundation for the future, to take hold of life that is really life.!” Now that’s giving!
Sometimes people say to me, Pastor Bonnie, if I win the lottery, I’ll make sure the church meets the budget and can feed all the hungry. Or another person said, “If I win the lottery, I’m giving half of it to the church.” While on the one hand this seems generous, it is unrealistic and not really about faithful giving.
I’d like to suggest that our stewardship is about blessing. Folks, you may not realize it, but we have already won the lottery! The lottery of life that is! Are you aware that we live in abundance??? When was the last time any of us had to hunt for food or shelter? When did we stay up all night of thirst because we had no clean drinking water? When did you sew some rags together so you had something to wear? Or on a more realistic level – are any of our cupboards at home empty? I think not! It’s usually more a thought of – well what shall we eat today? We ARE the wealthy! We don’t need to wait for the lottery to give a portion back to God. Let’s give it now and build a sure foundation!
Reflection and Journaling
Blessing: Make a list of your gifts from God. Thank God for them, rejoice in them. Do a little dance, if you will, as you praise God for the joys, things, money, and people in your life.
Challenge: What does being generous mean to you? What are your fears about sharing with your covenant community about money? How might telling your story of faithful giving ignite joy in others? Is God asking you to do more or give more? If so, how and are you willing to do it?
Prayer
Generous God, it’s hard to talk about money and giving to the church. I like my private life and not having to be responsible to others about how much I give. Keeping all this to myself makes me feel more comfortable. Yet, here I am, part of a family of God, working together to do ministry in our neighborhood. Take away my fear and replace it with a joyful boldness to share the good news of how you are blessing me. Show me how I can be generous and build a true foundation. Thank you for the abundant life I richly enjoy. Amen
I Timothy 6:17-18
Our parish is in the midst of a time of discernment regarding our finances. This week we will write down our pledges and bring them to church and offer them to God during our offering time. It is amazing how little folks want to talk about this. I find it puzzling. We tell stories of our families, we share our struggles, we celebrate our joys, we spend endless hours talking about how to grow our congregation, but few people will open up and talk about money.
In some cultures the amount each family gives is posted in the Sunday bulletin. Wow! That would probably empty the pews in our parish! What would happen if we shared with one another things such as, “I’ve decided to increase my giving by 2%” or “I’ve decided to donate one day a month to working in our parish?” These kinds of conversations are pretty much unheard of because I think we have some false sense that this is being prideful or no one else’s business. We somehow dance around these money issues and are very secretive about finances. I think we would all agree that we want our say about how the church money is spent and are openly verbal about it in our meetings, but rarely do we stand up and share our own faithful stories of blessing and giving.
I am discovering that it is usually out of fear that we hold back – we are fearful someone might find out how much money we make, fearful folks will find out we give little of what we have, fearful folks will find out we are generous, fearful folks will judge our spending habits and way of life. Living in fear stymies us and surely does not enhance growth, change or the power to love.
Let’s make a change. Let’s begin to live generously and start to talk about it! One of my favorite times of our service is the offering because it’s not about me – it’s about God. It’s the one moment when we say, God, here you are – take this gift and multiply it for YOUR good. The mystery of what God may do with it excites me. Oh sure, we pay the bills with it, (my salary included) but every week it seems, a new request comes to the doors at St. Peter’s. I am learning to ask God, “How shall we respond?” It is then that we depend on those monetary gifts and those gifts of groceries to centime to bless whoever comes in the door.”
In today’s reading, the Christians are reminded to “to do good, be generous, ready to share and in so doing, will store up a foundation for the future, to take hold of life that is really life.!” Now that’s giving!
Sometimes people say to me, Pastor Bonnie, if I win the lottery, I’ll make sure the church meets the budget and can feed all the hungry. Or another person said, “If I win the lottery, I’m giving half of it to the church.” While on the one hand this seems generous, it is unrealistic and not really about faithful giving.
I’d like to suggest that our stewardship is about blessing. Folks, you may not realize it, but we have already won the lottery! The lottery of life that is! Are you aware that we live in abundance??? When was the last time any of us had to hunt for food or shelter? When did we stay up all night of thirst because we had no clean drinking water? When did you sew some rags together so you had something to wear? Or on a more realistic level – are any of our cupboards at home empty? I think not! It’s usually more a thought of – well what shall we eat today? We ARE the wealthy! We don’t need to wait for the lottery to give a portion back to God. Let’s give it now and build a sure foundation!
Reflection and Journaling
Blessing: Make a list of your gifts from God. Thank God for them, rejoice in them. Do a little dance, if you will, as you praise God for the joys, things, money, and people in your life.
Challenge: What does being generous mean to you? What are your fears about sharing with your covenant community about money? How might telling your story of faithful giving ignite joy in others? Is God asking you to do more or give more? If so, how and are you willing to do it?
Prayer
Generous God, it’s hard to talk about money and giving to the church. I like my private life and not having to be responsible to others about how much I give. Keeping all this to myself makes me feel more comfortable. Yet, here I am, part of a family of God, working together to do ministry in our neighborhood. Take away my fear and replace it with a joyful boldness to share the good news of how you are blessing me. Show me how I can be generous and build a true foundation. Thank you for the abundant life I richly enjoy. Amen
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