Comments on: Four Guidelines for Becoming a Discerning Giver

By: joeplemon

joeplemon — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:18:03 +0000

I love that passage. The disciples were indignant that this woman would have the audacity to “waste” her gift on Jesus. Their logic was that it could be sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus lined them out by not only accepting the gift, but by calling this gift a beautiful thing. We will never take care of all the poor and we can never be too extravagant in giving to Jesus.

By the way, Janice and I are very intentional about giving to Jesus through our church and by supporting other ministries that make an impact for the kingdom. This is not to say that we are so straight laced that we don’t help those we deem to be “truly needy” (point 1 in this post). It is just that we want our giving to make an eternal difference.

By: R

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:37:44 +0000

The most disturbing thing to me is how many words that come to mind in today’s society: fundraisers, coatdrives, foodbanks, non-profits (hmmm, I truly question this one…) and on and on and on. The one word that completely disgusts me is “Community”. This is one I hear ad nauseum every day. Not kidding. Whether it’s based on local/regional/ global community, it’s going to be there in some form of news daily. Read Matthew 26:6-13. It put a new perspective in my thinking. Especially verse 11.
R´s last blog ..Mama Wears Dresses…

By: joeplemon

joeplemon — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:41:11 +0000

R,
You make a great point. The way people receive gifts tells us much about them and also sends a message to the giver. Some, as you say, act like the gift is owed to them, which sends a message of callousness (certainly lack of appreciation) toward the giver. It seems that many young couples do not even take time to send thank you cards for marriage gifts.

I think the attitude should be one of simple appreciation and thankfulness. A smile is not wrong when accompanied by heartfelt thanks.

I wrote a post: “Do You Know How to Receive Gifts” around Christmas time that further digs into the issue.

By: R

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:20:38 +0000

Several years back while watching a local news report I realized that people are not embarrassed to receive charity. The report showed a church giving out free Thanksgiving boxes to those in need. Watching their faces as they lined up to receive them, I noted the smiles and talking as if they were in a regular grocery store waiting to purchase the items. Having watched footage from the depression era I noted the difference in facial expressions on those folks. Same thing with a school that gave out food items to children in their backpacks on Fridays so they would at least have something over the weekend to eat. These children were all smiles and had even asked the teacher if they were going to be receiving the snacks that day. To me, it speaks volumes.
R´s last blog ..Mama Wears Dresses…