Christian life: a Call to Generosity

This October,  the month many Protestant churches encourage members to be generous givers and in November, turn in pledge cards for the coming year, is the first time I have been asked to offer one of these four little testimonies about giving in my own life.  So, I have been reflecting on and remembering examples and attitudes on this very important part of living out the Christian life.

A favorite “Jim story,” and there are many, happened about a year before he died.  We had inherited almost $80,000 from his mother’s estate.  The first morning this bonus money was technically ours, Jim, armed with a 3x5 card and pencil in hand,  approached me as we were finishing breakfast.  He wanted to make some plans about giving away some of these funds.  I had no big plans on spending or giving some of this money, but I asked him, “Can we just savor the experience of having a nice ‘chunk of change’ (as my banker brother would call it) in our possession for a few days?”  He agreed although he was always ready to give various things away; he was one of the least materialistic people I have ever known.  No doubt Mother Theresa would rank higher, but I only know of her.  That doesn’t count.

Often I gave Jim books for gifts: all things St. Louis, history, baseball, Christianity, etc.  In a book about John Wesley, although he found the biography a bit tedious overall, he gleaned an interesting aspect of this Anglican priest’s personal life.  As a student at Oxford in the 1700s, he lived on 28 pounds a year.  As his earnings increased eventually to 120 pounds annually, he continued to live on 28 pounds and found ways to joyfully share his remaining income.  That is definitely impressive and a high bar we have never come close to achieving in our own giving.   Interestingly, Wesley was concerned about his third rule on giving in his day.  His three rules were to earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can—not a widespread philosophy today, for sure.

Jesus emphasized loving God and loving others, serving them and considering their interests before our own.  Paul wrote in Romans 12 about offering ourselves as living sacrifices, even calling this part of our spiritual worship.  Clearly, the biblical concept of giving touches our lives in so many more ways than what we do with our money.  

As for our own practices in giving, Jim and I decided many years ago to make financial giving to our church but also to support other good causes that make appeals for financial support.  Besides supporting some of these causes, we have volunteered in different capacities over the years.  For about ten years, my mother, a friend and I provided definitely amateur Christian music at a skilled nursing facility. This was before senior residences offered so many activities for their residents.  For about three years, Jim and I served as pastoral care volunteers at a big health center in St. Louis.  We made cold calls—and some were really cold—to new patients, letting them know what was available to them for any pastoral needs.  We were allowed to offer to pray with them ourselves and despite the many rejections, there was always someone who wanted and appreciated our visiting and praying with him or her. 

Now with more time to fill and wanting to find purpose and meaning in it,  I have discovered and joined a Christian mentoring program available to “guests” at the Coles County Jail.  For a number of years, I have read about programs offered to inmates in prisons.  Shakespeare Saved My Life tells of an Indiana English professor who brought lessons in  Shakespeare to men in the maximum security prison in Terre Haute.  Wally Lamb published a collection of writings by incarcerated women he had mentored in writing called Couldn’t Keep it to Myself: Testimonies from our imprisoned Sisters.  There have also been some powerful television programs exploring real life endeavors to make justice more just, some exonerating wrongly convicted people and opening the door to freedom to them.

                The cook at the our county jail, who is the sister of our church secretary, suggested I consider working with detainees at the jail when she learned of my interests.  I had some writing endeavor in mind, but discovered that a Christian mentoring program, Wing Men, is already offering services and needing volunteers.  The weekly mentoring sessions connect volunteers with inmates through monitors like Skype.  The inmates see monitors indicating volunteers for Christian connections are available, and they choose to sit down and share.

                Last night was my second mentoring session mostly on my own after sitting in with a seasoned volunteer last week.  It is somewhat intimidating since when I punch my availability into my monitor, I don’t know who will show up on the screen.  Last night I had one very meaningful exchange with a bright young man who keeps blowing up his chances for a decent life by succumbing to the desire to get high—this by his own admission.  Although I have never used drugs, I did have a heck of a time giving up smoking cigarettes in my 20s, so I shared some on this.  I so hope the prayer we prayed will ignite something of God in him that will make a difference in his faith and actions from now on.

                So many needs in our world, even in our community.  May we all have God’s guidance and help to know what to give and where to give it.