The Gift of Giving

Scripture: “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-4)

I started my rough draft of this blog by writing about widows and orphans, but then my writing (or more likely, the LORD) took me in an entirely different direction. So I will write about widows and orphans in my next blog, if the Lord leads me to do so. But in so writing about giving to widows and orphans, came out the topic of giving – in general.

Aside from giving to widows and orphans, one thing I enjoy most in life is what I call “covert giving”. In the past, there have been people in my life that I have anonymously dropped off a bag of groceries at their doorstep or written them letters of encouragement. Sometimes I will include a small inspirational token, like a bookmark, key chain, or scripture card. Just to bless them.

Why? I believe I have the gift of encouragement, a spiritual gift given to me by the Holy Spirit. I don’t want recognition, as I am merely on my Father’s business. Being extremely shy, I also have a lot of practice in moving “under the radar” of any kind of recognition. I'm a leader in my church, but I would much rather set up and break down events than actually introduce myself to strangers.

I reveal this about myself only because I want to share with you the following: if you have never tried it before, I recommend it. There is something extremely satisfying about giving without expecting anything in return, especially if you are anonymous. For a moment, put yourself in the recipients shoes: There you are, going along your daily business, a day like any other, and someone has mailed you a card, letting you know you are being thought of, you are appreciated, and God loves you. Imagine having a terrible day at work, you get home, and there is a potted plant on your doorstep – and the card basically says, “Just because I was thinking of you. God bless” – Anonymous.

There is something that wells up within both the giver and the recipient when this happens. I can’t explain it, but I think the Holy Spirit glows within each of us.

And as I write this blog – I just now realized something: Lately I have felt discouraged because I don’t feel I share Christ with people as I should. I cannot describe to you how shy I am. I can’t strike up a conversation with a stranger, much less share the gospel with anyone. But in my writing, I have found the freedom to reach out and touch people. It’s not due to anything I say, rather, I follow the direction God leads me. Notice how He took over my blog. I had one thing in mind - but He led me in this direction! So my evangelism, I guess, is through my writing. And whether the recipient is Christian or not, I find satisfaction in letting them know Christ loves them. Perhaps I can develop a building block within them for faith to be built on down the road. You never know when you are "planting a seed" (of faith) within someone. And sometimes someone else will come along and water that seed, and someone else will bring Sonlight to the seed, and as a result the seed (of faith) starts to grow. That is my own testimony. In college, several people in my life passed on through, some watered, some shared Christ, others gave me Christian books to read, and as my curiosity grew and my spirit thirsted for more, I was ready for the invitation to join the church I have belonged to now for close to 20 years.

Fifteen years ago, I felt prompted to put a stack of 5 or so blank greeting cards in front of me, and I opened the phone book randomly, 5 times, and addressed each card to the person’s name I had laid my finger on. Of course I didn’t sign the cards or write a return address. I just sent out a gentle word of encouragement from the Lord. I did this for a series of weeks – and then I guess it was time to stop or life stepped in. But it felt very good to drop those cards off in the mail.

Crazy, huh? But sometimes the Lord has us do crazy things! I could never be a preacher – but I can reach others for the Kingdom in other, “covert” ways.

My challenge to you is this: if this appeals to you – give it a try! You may discover a hidden “gift” inside of you. And one of the most fun things about it is – you can be creative while blessing others through the Lord!

I thank God for this blog, because while I was despairing, inwardly, over the fact that I don’t seem to be doing anything for Him, in the way of sharing Him with the world – He has revealed to me that I can and do by being a secret giver for Him! (Thanks, Lord!!)

Prayer request: Help me and others with the gift of giving to increase our efforts to reach the world by blessing others anonymously. Pray that shy people like myself can become more bold and increase our efforts to share Christ with others in our special "quiet" way.

Prayer: Father, thank You for those who can boldly preach Your word to others wherever they are, in grocery stores, elevators, or waiting for a bus. Thank You, Lord, for calling those extroverts out into the world. Please help the shy quiet ones like myself to reach out just as boldly in our own special way in which You made us to make just as big an impact for Your Kingdom as our more outgoing brethren. Increase our gifting, Lord, increase our boldness and determination to spread Light into the darkness. Amen