You gotta give a little?

My boys brought home zip lock bags from church to collect "Coins for Shoes." Twin A dumped all of his money ($2.40) into the bag and told everyone about it. Twin B put one penny out of his $2.30 into the bag and went about his play. I thought it was ironic; the boy who did the right thing announced it and the boy who was more conservative didn't announce it. To Twin B's defense he still doesn't understand money very well, perhaps he thought he was giving a gold mine! In the car this morning we talked about the lady in the Bible who quietly gave all she had which was very little amongst others who gave a sliver of all they had and made a big deal out of it (Luke 21:1-4). I love helping and watching my children process these things.

But, I think we all are faced with this conundrum. Sometimes, it isn't with cash though. It's with our other resources such as our time or skills. Often we give only a little, just enough to get by. To pacify ourselves, others, or even we think, God. If we really thought of our resources as serving Jesus as we serve others than why aren't we all going crazy giving? And, do we give so little that we feel a need to make it known because we don't know when we'll be doing it again? Do we have such little faith that we've got to keep reserves in case our own situation doesn't work out? Remember, I'm not just talking about cash.

I don't struggle with the need to make my giving known. I struggle with follow through. The idea to give of myself sounds so good but when it comes to execution I often back out, and always there is a good excuse. Mostly, I'm a flake and forget. I also struggle with the selfishness of reserving some for myself because I'm scared I'll need it. What do you struggle with? How can we fix it? The only thing I know is practice makes perfect.

FREE CLOTHES 

Saturday March 10th from 9am-Noon at South Yukon Church of Christ11700 NW 10th Street between Yukon Parkway and Cornwell. Clothing available for toddlers up all the way up to adults! For more information, you can call the office at 405-354-1863.