This year I bought a subscription to Sojourner's magazine. It covers issues related to faith, politics, and culture...things I felt the need to better educate myself on. The May 2008 issue is devoted to "Putting Your Money Where Your Heart Is" and there are some great articles on stewardship and thinking through the investments we are making. I thought this particular quote was a good challenge to anyone who struggles with generosity:
"Emotional barriers rise quickly when it comes to money. Voices from the past, anxiety about financial security, and fear of scarcity--often reinforced by culture and the marketplace--paralyze people again and again. One way to gain some resolve is simply to begin by moving a small amount of money and living into the results of that action."
I loved that last sentence. Begin by moving a small amount of money and "live into" the results of that action. (BTW...Have you ever noticed how the reverse of this is easily true. When our income increases we have no problem learning how to "live into" the excess.)
We are adaptable creatures. We can adjust our habits. But often our fear, anxiety, and greed keep us from growing in generosity. But if we'd take a step...begin moving a small (or large) amount of money...we'd learn to live into the results of that action.
Two places I'm loving learning to move more of my money:
My Church. There are many reasons I'm committed to giving 10+% of my income to my church but I've never been this excited about doing it. I love the vision Community has for reaching the 67% of people who don't know Jesus and relieving the suffering of the 20% of the world's population living in poverty. I love knowing this vision is going to make a difference in a village in Rwanda, a barangay in the Philippines, a school in East Aurora, a neighborhood in San Francisco, and hopefully to my neighbors, Javier and Rachelle, that live next door. I think part of God's genius with the church is providing a community for us to pool our resources together to make a greater impact than any of us could make on our own.
Kiva. I learned about this non-profit organization from my friend Aaron. Basically it provides a way for you to band together with people from all over the world to make interest-free loans to entrepreneurs in poverty-stricken countries. For the past 4 months I've been "moving a small amount of money" to invest in these businesses. My first $25 joined with lots of other people to help Elixabeth Ajole in Uganda with her coal business. All together we loaned Elixabeth $1575 and she's already paid 17% of it back. I've also invested in food sales in Viet Nam, a blacksmith in Pakistan, and fish selling in Ghana. The coolest part of this organization is that when the loan gets paid back I can turn around and invest that $25 in another entrepreneur. This stuff is fun!
And you know what? I haven't even missed that $25 each month. Because when we begin to move a small amount we learn to live into the results of that action. And then we feel like giving more... and more... and more. And hopefully one day the fear won't be as scary, the anxiety won't be as unnerving, and greed starts to take a back seat to generosity.
And we could change the world.
Love it, Tammy! Thanks for sharing your heart on this. :)
Posted by: Julie | June 01, 2008 at 12:59 AM