Stop thinking and give

In the last few years, it seems that there has been a lot written and spoken about “sustainable giving” and “when helping hurts”. So much so, I feel, that any “responsible” giver reading and listening to these things almost becomes paralyzed with fear, and instead of giving freely, they become so worried about how their gift is being used that they do not give. It is true that individuals do need to be responsible and mindful with their giving; and be careful not to create any long term or unhealthy dependencies. But I think all the sustainable giving talk can be summed up with those two words: Be mindful. Do not get me wrong. I am a huge proponent of giving sustainably, however over the past few years I have become a larger supporter of giving freely. I think that our sentence should not just end with being mindful, but should read: Be mindful, but most of all give freely/joyfully.

So often the things we do or do not do are governed by fear. Fear of what people will think, fear of how people will use what we give, fear of creating more complications. And while some fear can be healthy, too much can paralyze. If we are giving in accordance to what we see in scripture, I see nothing to indicate that there should be any fear or worry connected to our giving. Give cheerfully, give generously, give to everyone who asks. (This applies not only to monetary gifts, but also giving our time, and those things that “belong” to us.) Now, I know some will have some objections and concerns with this but ultimately my point is this: All in all which heart do you feel God would have us give with? A light, worry free, cheerful heart? Or a heart that is bogged down and calculating every eventuality that could incur? 

Now I know I am taking this to its maxim and there should be some responsibility involved (that is why: be mindful), but ultimately I believe less thinking should go into this exercise than you would think. I am learning more and more that giving should not be a practice of the mind only, but ultimately a larger practice of the heart (which is sometimes quite hard for the INTP thinker that I am). I fear, when we try to be responsible or calculating we lose a part of cheerful giving we lose some freeness with the gift, and some of the joy, the heart that goes with and into giving. 

When I was in college some friends and I went on a camping trip.  While there a couple of us thought it would be a good idea to try to climb a pine tree using only hatchets.  As the first of us got about 20 feet up in the air, only secured to the tree by the blade of the hatchets, the honor student asked, "How are you going to get back down?"  Now if you are the person 20 feet in the air with hatchets in your hand, that is not necessarily the question you want to hear. But it led us to a great answer, that we still use till this day, "One step at a time." Now my point in this is not to promote foolish thinking, or utter lack of thinking, but to point out that this among many of my other memories are fond memories, full of joy that came from lack of thinking. Now granted, that is only so because no one got hurt, and we do need to exercise some caution, admittedly probable more than being in the air 20 feet up with hatchets... But the more we think and examine things from every angle the more likely we are to stay on the ground and not move, rather than create a joyous memory. If we live our lives mindfully, and move one step at a time, responding to the hiccups and challenges that come along the way rather than avoiding them altogether, we keep our motion, and can live a little more freely.

In summary: of course there are areas, over our time working in a developing country, that we have seen giving more beneficial than others. (I am partial to short-term relief aid, trainings, and sustainable economic projects myself). But who can say how God can use any gift. Even a cup of chai to some street boys, (that by all calculations could create a cycle of begging) can be used by God to do things we cannot even imagine. And do not underestimate the effect that cheerful giving has on the giver as well. To be concise: Give freely. It is not for us to control how each gift is used as that defeats the purpose and joy of a gift. Give to the needs that pass in front of you. Give where your heart feels a tug. Give joyfully and freely. But ultimately: Give.