“The spirituality of giving has been tarnished by incessant focus on fundraising to meet organizational budgets. To reclaim the spiritual discipline of giving, we need to step away from budgeting and experience the joy of simply being generous, in which someone else’s need for support coincides with our need to give. Eventually, one’s motivation becomes gratitude, but first we need to get beyond the guilt often employed by religion…
Giving that is motivated by guilt or shame will seek mainly to escape the negative feeling, by giving as little as possible, by blaming the recipient for being in need, or by shifting negative feelings onto someone else (scapegoating). Giving that is motivated by the positive feelings of gratitude will lead not only to more generosity, but to examination of one’s life and values. This self-examination, in turn, can lead to transformation of life. This is a personal journey, perhaps shared with others, but not to be compelled by peer pressure.”
Tom Ehrich in Church Wellness: A Best Practices Guide to Nurturing Healthy Congregations (New York: Church Publishing, 2008) 92.
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are before us, and Giving Tuesday is only a week away. So that our giving this season is not motivated by budget deficits or guilt (as such prompts simply do not produce generosity), let’s talk about the things for which we are thankful and express our gratitude to God! After cultivating gratitude (or “self-examination” as Ehrich calls it), because God designed us to give, let’s prayerfully deploy God’s resources to the things He cares about and encourage others to do the same. Let’s do this not out of peer pressure but in response to the Spirit’s leading from grateful hearts.