Living Stewardship

Cheerful Giving

In my last article I challenged you to give your $300 pledge increase in January in order to be a First Fruits Giver. Did you? How did that make you feel? There are many reasons we give to the church. We feel an obligation. We respond in thanks to what we’ve been given. We know the good our gifts will accomplish. But giving to the church also makes us feel good.
There is a song I taught years ago in VBS called, “God Loves a Cheerful Giver.” “Give it all you’ve got! He loves to see you laughing when you’re in an awkward spot.” God doesn’t want us to be miserable. And he doesn’t want to hear us grumbling as we write out our offering checks. I’ve been watching recently (pretty tough to do while singing the choir anthem, but I’ve had help from the ushers!) and I haven’t seen any scowls as people put their offering in the plate. This is a “feel good” moment!
And what about giving our time joyfully? Yes, there are times when we’ve said we would do something and then dreaded going to that work day or didn’t feel like leaving the comfort of home to attend an evening meeting. But how many times have you heard someone say, or even said yourself, “I get back so much more than what I give?”
So here’s my challenge to you this month. Be a Cheerful Giver. Put a smile on your face when you write the check and when you place it in the offering plate. When the frown starts at the thought of preparing the Sunday School lesson or of making the extra food for IHN, stop, smile, and think how much both you and God are loving your gifts.

Note: 2013 year-end contribution statements are in the back of the church. Please pick yours up for inclusion in your 2013 tax filings.
Offering envelopes for 2014 may also be found in the back of the church.