seank.mitchell@yahoo.com

     The topic of charity was discussed in a recent article of the Wall Street Journal. Giving trends were highlighted, as was the personal effects that giving can have on the giver. In the final analysis, the article seemed to suggest that those who give typically give experience shifts within their streams of income and other personal financial resources. 

      The shifts are positive ones; for example, some have reported that as a result of being disciplined givers, they have encountered promotions at work and increases in pay. An even more popular effect has been the increased awareness of and attentiveness towards becoming a shrewd financial manager of what one has. The thinking that stems from giving is a confident humility, or what we Christians might call faith. Faith speaks that everything one has comes from God, and that the call of the Christian is to use one’s financial resources to reveal God to the world and to help others embrace God’s love for them. Effectually, the Christian trusts that what one gives one never owned, as it was God’s all along. This trust boldly claims that abundant life is entered through giving, not through getting. For it is through giving oneself away that the Christian grows in Christ and becomes one in mission and mind with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. To give is to become fully alive. 

      Jesus gave a commentary on the effects of giving, as did the Apostle Paul. According to them, and in correlation with the commentary from the Wall Street Journal, giving does impact one’s life at the personal level. Jesus goes so far as to say that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). What then is the great blessing for the giver? 

      Think back to a time when you were involved in an activity that felt right, giving you a feeling of purpose with how God was calling you to live as a human being. Maybe it was during a time of prayer, the first time you led a Bible study, worked with youth, or mentored a new Christian. There was something about this moment or activity that was revelatory. From the experience, you felt very special, as if you were indeed called, gifted, and centered in God’s will. I think this familiarity with our life purpose is the greatest blessing to receive. Truly, there is no greater blessing or joy than for us to know who we are in God and the extent to which our lives will make a difference for His Kingdom. As Christian disciples, we so often learn by doing, and until we do give and give again, our joyful identity will be kept under the table of our heart and out of our understanding’s reach. To give is to become fully alive. 

      Jesus, Paul, the Wall Street Journal, and our own hearts are sharing a message for us to both embrace and become. The message: We transform and blossom to appear as the city on a hill, the lamp on the stand—the light giving forth expressions of God—in the faith-filled act of giving away what wasn’t ours at the start. Through giving, we open a door for God to bless others, as well as us, the givers. Or, in the words of Jesus:

      “Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” 

      -Luke 6:38, The Message Translation   

Copyright 2007 by Sean K. Mitchell

Sean K. Mitchell is a creative writer and author of The Financial Pilgrimage, a book that doesn’t just talk about money management, but communicates a fresh, financial approach to discipleship that mixes discipline with spontaneity. For more information on the book or to contact Sean, visit www.thefinancialpilgrimage.com.