Fear. . .

We are living in a time of great fear.  Fear of losing a job, or a loved one losing a job.  Fear of losing our home or our savings.  The more doom and gloom we hear on the TV, the radio or from our leaders the more we want to conserve. 

I am not sure this in and of itself is a bad thing.  For many of us perhaps a time to conserve is both good and appropriate to put us on a more responsible course.  But, there is also the other side.  We allow our fears to dominate our lives and instead of taking risks with the important things in life, we wait and are passive.

In my experience this is especially true of our finances.  Giving to build the kingdom of God and to those who are in need requires taking a risk.  We often wonder if the money we give will cause us to suffer and we wonder if it will be lost forever. 

I don’t believe in manipulation for giving.  I don’t believe in using extreme photos and stories to tug at people’s hearts to get them to give.  Though I think there is always a place for stirring hearts for worthy and worthwhile causes, the brain should be engaged too.

In my ministry I have tried very hard to be committed to trusting God with the finances.  THIS IS REALLY hard for me.  I want to “fix” it, and sometimes I think if I use guilt and manipulation people will sense my fear and jump in to help out.  I have found this to have the opposite effect on people’s lives.  Throughout the U.S. and the world churches are hurting financially.  Dreams for furthering God’s mission in the world have been sidetracked and sometimes even sidelined.  Many of us leaders struggle to sort it all through and see what God is doing.

Yet, more often then not when people commit to trusting God and following God’s principles report more peace and less anxiety. . . go figure.

~ by pastormc on September 24, 2009.