For just one month - for January 2017 - stop all giving (except your church tithe; yes, your first 10% should go directly to your place of worship/prayer/place of faith).
Why stop? To fast. Fasting makes you slow down . . . I guess that's a pun. Slow down and think, pray, feel. About your charity - your time, talent, and treasure. What is your purpose in sharing those three most valuable personal commodities? What impact are you making with them? Is it even measurable? Does the charity even measure its impact or success and communicate that to you?
What is your mission in giving (again, not just money). That's right . . . What's your end game? Make you feel okay about yourself? For a pat on the back? Get on the major donor list? Recognition at the annual gala?
Or to make others feel good - or maybe just better? Does your effort enable the suffering of others or actually develop the person and the community? Are you in it for the short or long haul? A quick fix or a relationship? For life or legacy?
What is your mission as a steward of what you've earned or been given? Remember, its not just money, your time (which some consider more valuable), and talents. What will your legacy look like? Yep...when you're dead and gone? What will you leave the world besides your ashes? Will you steward from beyond your grave?
So stop giving for a month and fast...think...feel...pray...meditate on your God-gifted Time, Treasure, and Talent. Then write your Stewardship mission statement for 2017, and whatever exists beyond it and your life's legacy to the world. What, why, when, how, how much, for what end, and how will you know you did well in doing good?
Then, and only then . . . Give . . . As a Steward.
Steward your life, wholeheartedly and with godly joy.
Here's a link to a short post to help with your meditating and to create your mission statement to make a lasting, Kingdom impact through stewardship.
Outline your Stewardship
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