Why do we
Give?…Though I serve as Beloved’s Deacon, my full time job is to
serve on the staff at Trinity Episcopal School in uptown Charlotte. Working with these students over the past two years,
“Why do we give?” is a question I hear again and again. Do we give from guilt, by following “we ought
to” injunctions from our parents, from a response to what we’ve been given, or from a combination of these reasons?
The clearest answer for me comes in Jesus’ words to Peter when he asked three times “ Peter, do you love me?”
To each question, Peter responded, “Yes, Lord, I love you” and to each response, Jesus’ reply was enigmatic: “feed
my lambs…take care of my sheep…feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-19)
When we “give” – of ourselves, of our time, of our
special talents or gifts, or of our money we are responding to that call to “feed and tend for Jesus’ sheep.”
This giving is related to God’s Old Testament commands to care for those on the margins of society through mandates like tithing,
jubilee years of erasing debt, leaving part of the crops in the fields for those who have little to “glean” as well as Jesus’
directive to care for "the least of these" by providing clothing, drink, food and shelter to those who have none.
This is especially true when we put some effort, research and prayerful
consideration into choosing the beneficiaries of our gifts. By examining the agency, relief efforts, or reading about (or
better yet, talking to or working with) people who are involved with turning our gifts into food or direct help for those who are in need, we are
making a conscious decision about where our efforts should be directed.
One of the first draws for me at Church of the Beloved was our commitment
to give away 10% of the annual “giving” to the church in the Sunday Offering Basket collections. This was a
principle etched into the DNA of this new community from the start and is perhaps one of the hardest commitments a church can
maintain—especially when budgets are tight and the temptation is to include that 10% into the operating funds. This church
has consistently stood by the original intent: to “tithe” that portion of the monies with which God has blessed us beyond the
worshipping community to human needs and evangelistic ministries. Our web site lists the beneficiaries of these yearly tithes, which
alternate between “local” and “international” needs.
In the next eight issues of eNews, I will show the
good news of where the people of Beloved have already made a profound difference in people’s lives around the world and how our global church
is continuing to challenge us (and millions of other Christians around the world) to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals that will
show Jesus’ face to the poorest countries of the world as together we
systematically and realistically tackle the devastating poverty, sickness
and lack of infrastructure we find there.
Deb Blackwood, Deacon
