Giving

He was fumbling through his sock drawer; frantic. With his mom's frustration rising, tears began welling up in his eyes as he said, "Mom, I'm looking for money to buy bricks!"

Our church's capital campaign, the BOLD Initiative, is making an attempt to build platforms to connect people from all walks of life to life in Christ. There are specific goals being generated but the end game for such a risk is the church acting in faith believing that God will be glorified by our unwavering obedience.

Considering stories from the Bible like a boy's loaves and fish and a widow's mite our church is being challenged to consider a BOLD offering that would propel the name of Christ forward and deepen the faith of its members.

The mantra of our church's BOLD Initiative is "Our boldest moments are our best moments." So, whether we're giving our money or our time how do we guarantee that we are giving God our BEST moments?

Give generously. Gratitude breeds generosity. When we're convinced we have been given much we will be more prone to give. We must learn to be thankful for what we have but we must realize that our stock is simply on loan. Loosening our grip on our most valuable possessions will always be an indicator of a life marked by generosity.

Give sacrificially. "Give until it hurts." The problem is we're not very tolerant to pain. The slightest discomfort often causes us to tighten the bolts on our pocketbooks. Financial stability is a blanket of security; the opposite of risk and sacrifice. Sacrificial giving increases our faith, utilizing God's intervention in our circumstances to advance His kingdom purposes.

Give joyfully. Gifts given begrudgingly rob us of the joy meant to be garnered for our obedience. Giving in pretense or reluctance forfeits genuine gladness of heart. When we treasure the Giver more than the gift we realize our treasure is stored in heaven, not in earthly accounts. Giving with a smile on our face will ultimately put a smile on His!

Giving money, our hard-earned money, can make indelible marks on our lives and bank accounts. Pushing back on the pressure to give makes sense. After all, it's ours isn't it? Yet, God has called us to leverage our resources for a much higher purpose than our pleasure and entertainment. Giving a gift seems to be a small price to pay in light of the incomparable riches of knowing that our faith and obedience is becoming a cataclysmic force in the kingdom purposes of God.