The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is a fascinating day. What began as a simple idea in 2012 has become a global movement to take a break from the mania and mayhem of department store stakeouts and cyber deal digging and look towards others.
It's a shame that we highlight generosity and charity so heavily only one day a year. I get it though. I'm just as guilty as the next person spending those couple days post-Turkey-Armageddon with my head buried in a device trying to discover the hidden deals and bargain gems à la Indiana Jones.
Obviously if I don't buy all the things on sale I'm a foolish consumer because only blockheads buy Christmas presents at full retail price.
Am I right?
But I believe there is a not-so-hidden truth to be found in Giving Tuesday.
It feels better to focus on others than it does to focus on myself.
And not just a little bit. It is better, as in soul-enriching. It develops a sense in your heart you can't quite form into words. It's as if your heart and the Father's heart are in rhythm and you know this is what God desires for His children - to be the hands and feet of Christ.
To care for others.
Luke records in Acts 20:35 when Paul is speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus and Paul declares that Christ Himself said "it is more blessed to give than to receive."
We only need to look at Christ to see the very embodiment of giving. Christ gave us the preeminent gift of Himself so that we might have life in Him. How else could we possibly live our lives except by being marked as givers?
I would encourage you to not only give today, but live you life marked by generosity. In a culture that celebrates consumption, dare to be unselfish. This concept doesn't necessarily mean with your resources either.
Give freely of your time.
Give freely of your attention.
Give freely of your love.
We have surely been blessed not that we would hoard up for ourselves treasures on earth where Christ explained that moth and rust would destroy them. We have been blessed so that we may turn around and be a blessing to others.
Giving Tuesday is a great reminder of where are treasures need to be - Heaven. In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ laid out the plan for what would happen to our treasures. If we lay claim to them here on earth, they will eventually be destroyed. If we store them up in Heaven they will endure for all eternity.
How do we store up treasures in Heaven? We give and invest in others, here and now!
So, where can you give? There are countless charities and ministries where you can invest your resources and even your time and effort. I've included a small list of ones I trust implicitly in their missions and methods. Just click the link and you'll be redirected to their sites.
I encourage you to find one that may even be local and means something to you. There are opportunities all around us, we need just look up from our phones every once in a while and see where the needs are.
Let's go out and meet them.
Comments