I woke up this morning with this heavy on my mind, I’m not sure why.
Perhaps it was because of the Facebook post I saw last night where my friend who, against all odds, was fronting her own small postcard campaign to eradicate and make illegal the sport-killing of coyotes in our state.
Or maybe it was seeing the news item where one young entrepeneur dropped his own salary by almost a million dollars so that he could give all his employees a minimum wage of seventy grand per year.
Or perhaps it was because I had another email from someone who lost a beloved animal and thought I could ease their pain through animal communication—yet clearly expected me to do so pro bono.
I personally believe strongly in the cliché, “What goes around, comes around.” But how does one decide what good acts to do when? And how does this relate to the concept of tithing, which, over recent decades seems to have been reduced to one simple formula: Belong to a church or religious organization and give it 10% of all your income.
Please know, if this is your preferred way of giving back, I wholeheartedly honor and support you. This formula, or “rule,” however, has just never sat right with me. And I don’t think that’s just because I choose to exercise my spirituality outside of organized religion.
In 2 Corinthians 9:7, it says: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
And Proverbs 11:24: “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”
It seems to me many of us have lost the true meaning of sharing somewhere along the way, largely believing it only has to do with money or material giving, often from a tit-for-tat mindset: “I’ll do this for you, if you do that for me.”
This is where Paying It Forward gives me hope. A fairly new idea of how to share our personal good fortune, this concept makes me feel there is light at the end of the tunnel. This is the kernel of what tithing/sharing/giving is all about, and it has exponential effects.
Pondering over my first cup of coffee this morning, I found myself wondering:
- “When DO I offer my pro bono services to someone whom they will comfort?”
- “When DO I join in a campaign for a cause and give of my efforts and hours?”
- “When DO I hand over dollars to help someone who needs those dollars much more than I?”
- “Am I doing enough?”
My answer to myself is, and intuitively always has been: when I have “decided in my heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion” to do so.
Truly “paying it forward” and passing on the energy of the good will I’ve been gifted with from others—whenever the time feels right and in whatever fashion or form I am able—is what brightens my day and makes me feel like a “cheerful giver.” And if my my God loves me for that, so much the better!
What are your thoughts on this? When and how do you tithe or pay it forward? And how does your way make you feel—happy or put upon? I would love to hear, and I imagine others would too.
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