Week 2 - Day 3 [Charity]

Intentional Giving vs. Spontaneous Giving

If I am any kind of a Giver, it's a Spontaneous Giver.  I like the feeling I get when I give on the spur of the moment, when the opportunity presents itself.  Cool!  Satisfaction reigning supreme!!

WTF is THAT?  Spontaneous giving, in the absence of disciplined, planned, Intentional Giving, is just plain SELFISH.  And if it's not motivated by self-interest and self-satisfaction, it's probably motivated by guilt.  I give - when I can - first because I like the feeling I get, and second because I feel guilty that I'm not giving as much as I think I should.  Well, in my opinion there's only one way to really Give...and that's by figuring out how much you think you should give - or how much you think God wants you to give - RESPONSIBLY (more on that tomorrow), and making a plan to give that much and then sticking to it.  Bummer.  How boring is that?  I can't imagine that I'm going to get that "buzz" when my giving dollars are electronically sucked out of my checking account every payday before I even get to see it or feel it.  However, what I can imagine is that at the end of the year when I am pulling my figures together for my taxes, I'll feel quite happy enough to see the total amounts that went to the causes that I Believe in.  And remember, it's about happiness, not pleasure.

What is kinda exciting though, is that once a fairly disciplined approach to Giving has been established for awhile, an additional sum of money can be set aside to accumulate into a Spontaneous Giving fund - cash that can be disbursed at will as opportunities arise.  And there's the rush...but now it's not guilt-driven or entirely selfishly motivated.  The funds for the Spontaneous Giving were planned for, prayed over, and ready waiting in reserve for the moment to arrive.

And THAT dear friends, is the difference between giving and Giving (IMHO).