Written by Dawn Rutan
A couple things have occurred today that have gotten me thinking about stewardship. I’m reading Ken Shigamatsu’s book God in My Everything, and he has a good chapter on finances. He talks about “proportionate giving,” meaning “we first determine the amount we need (adjusted regularly for inflation) and choose to live on that alone. We then commit to giving the rest away.”
While I haven’t gone that far, I have made an effort to increase my giving each year, even when I don’t receive any increase in salary. I will say up front that money does not hold a great attraction for me, and being single allows me the freedom to live as simply as I choose. It is nice to see my bank and pension balances increasing, but I don’t spend a lot of time obsessing about it. Since I have to spend most of my work hours looking at finances, by the time I get home I don’t want to be bothered with balancing my checkbook or paying bills. (I just entered about 8 months of receipts into the computer, and I wouldn’t do it at all if I didn’t have to file taxes at year end.)
Over the past several years I’ve noticed certain trends in my decisions about charitable giving, and my choices are probably not unique.
- I give to fewer organizations than I used to. I’m giving more of my funds to those that impact me directly and eliminating others that I’ve had only distant ties to. Although I appreciate the work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, it isn’t that important to me.
- I have also moved toward organizations that are overtly Christian. Anybody can support humanitarian organizations, but only Christians are likely to support churches and Christian non-profit agencies.
- I give more to organizations that have fewer donors. My alma maters are great, but they have a pool of thousands of donors. My church only has about a hundred, so comparatively its need is greater.
- I direct more funds toward organizations with a proven track record of good stewardship of their own resources, including their finances, properties, and personnel. Financial management is great, but if that comes at the expense of deteriorating buildings or staff that is either overworked or underworked, they may need to adjust their priorities.
It’s kind of surprising to me as I think about this to realize that many of these choices were made subconsciously. I never sat down and wrote out a budget of who deserved what amount from me. I will say that it helps to have an unlisted phone number and caller ID, so I never have to listen to those passionate calls to make an immediate contribution that I would never otherwise make. I rarely give to any special appeals outside of my church.
Financial stewardship is something we should all give more thought to, with at least a periodic review of where our money is going and how that reflects our priorities and our faith. I made the decision some time back that cable TV was not worth the investment of my money and time, so I downgraded to just the broadcast channels. (Ironically, the cable company has never removed the extra channels, so I’ve had several months of free cable.) I’ve also cut out some other conveniences and unnecessary clutter. It’s getting to be fun asking, “What else can I get rid of or give away that I don’t need?” Since “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7) I might as well enjoy it!
I don’t look at giving as depriving myself of something good, but as making room in my heart for something better—building my own relationship with God and helping others to do the same.
