15. Giving Is Not Just About Money
"I give a portion of what I earn each month," April confided to her Christian friend, "but I feel I could be doing more." Do you ever get that feeling? Perhaps we all do, and perhaps we all could do more. In this chapter we will look at giving "beyond money" – and if we have little to give physically, opportunities to give anyway!
Perhaps we can increase the power of our gifts by sharing products we produce or by giving items we no longer need – or don't need as many as we have. Most people are aware of the opportunities to give in these ways through the food banks, the Salvation Army, or other helping agencies in our own communities, but we may not be aware of some of the charities that send products and lightly used items to distant places around the world where the needs may be even greater than those of our own communities.
An example of this kind of charity is Matthew 25: Ministries (a Charity Navigator 100 percent rated charity) which aims to help "a needy world with the things we throw away." This innovative charity collects and passes along used items that can truly help those in need nationally and internationally – including things we may not often think of such as empty prescription pill bottles which are sent to areas where what medicines are available are often literally wrapped in leaves or paper and subsequently are spoiled through moisture and in other ways. Yet another organization, Christian Resources International, specifically focuses on sending used Bibles and religious books to areas where they are not generally available.
More than Physical Things Most Christians understand the principle of being "blessed to be a blessing" (see Genesis 12:2–3): that one of the reasons God blesses us is to enable us to help others; but many of us limit the understanding of that principle to our financial and material blessings. Those things are certainly an important part of our giving, but we do not need to stop there. While we may acknowledge intellectually that life is much more than just money and material things, it's sometimes hard to really apply that understanding when it comes to giving.
Often, we do not see blessings that we have been given that we can share with others because we do not think of them as an abundance of something other people need. But we should realize that sometimes the best help we can give to many who are in need is not tangible (Matthew 11:5; Acts 3:1–6). The apostle Paul puts this in clear perspective for us by quoting Jesus' statement about giving not in regard to money, but work!
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) Paul frequently stresses our ability to help others in non-material ways and perhaps nowhere more so than in his letters to the Galatians and Romans where we find this theme expounded. Below are four non-material blessings to which Paul alludes directly or indirectly in those letters – gifts we have been given that we can share with others: Time: "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:10). We may know this scripture well, but we don't always equate opportunity with time. If we are retired, between jobs, or often have some time on our hands, we can ask ourselves to what extent we give of our time. We can think about how we can share the blessing of time we have in ways such as volunteering with a good charity or service organization, or simply helping those around us.
Health: "Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak and not to please ourselves" (Romans 15:1 WEB). Paul mentions this principle in a wider context than just physical health, but it does apply there. If we enjoy good health – or even reasonably good health – we can ask ourselves to what extent we give of the health we have and think about how we can share the blessing with those less fortunate than we are. It could be in service, by helping those who now cannot help themselves, or perhaps just in regularly taking time to encourage those in poor health – which is something we can do even if our own health is limited. Skills: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us" (Romans 12:6). Although Paul is talking primarily about spiritual gifts in Romans 12, the principle applies in other areas, just as he speaks of gifts of teaching, giving, and leading (vss. 7-8). Do you have specialized knowledge, training, or talents in an area with which you can help others? If you have medical, financial, or legal training, there are a number of ways you can help those in need, but there are many other types of knowledge that can be shared by helping those without the training you may have. Even basic skills can be shared by serving with volunteer organizations. Understanding: "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" (Romans 14:19). The "mutual edification" Paul speaks of involves sharing and building each other up through the understanding we have been given of God's way. Most people go through life blindly making mistakes that hurt themselves and others, and those of us who understand there is a better way to live can share that blessing if we look for opportunities to do so. Sometimes this can be as simple as acting as a mentor or friend to a young person we know, or just sharing wise counsel (or a copy of the book of Proverbs!) with those who might profit from it. Understanding is a blessing that can be shared like any other, but it is a particularly valuable one.
These are just some basic areas in which we can share the nonmaterial blessings we have. Even if we are poor, we may have time we can give. If we do not have time, we may have health we can share; if not enough health, we may have knowledge or skills we can use to help others. Even if we have none of these things, if we have understanding from learning God's way, that is in itself a great blessing that we can share with others. We simply need to develop the habit of seeing the blessings we have and learning to share those non-material things – to fulfill the purpose of being blessed to be a blessing to others.