When you think about LOVE, what other verb comes to mind?" How about GIVE? And to affirm my point, if we look at the oft-quoted John 3:16, we see both verbs. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son." Love means giving, and radical wealth is not far behind when you learn to give to God first.
OLD MOTTO
One of my readers, I'll call her JANE, wrote me and said, "Martha, I can't save anything, let alone give money to the church. What do I do?"
So for inspiration, I took a look at The Frugal Catholic Motto at the end of each blog. It erroneously read:
Martha Wild King, M.Ed., Author
The Frugal Catholic: Learn to live on less to SAVE and GIVE more.
No wonder poor Jane couldn't save: I had it all backward. If we follow God's ways, it needed to read differently, so...
NEW MOTTO
Martha Wild King, M.Ed., Author
The Frugal Catholic: Learn to live on less to GIVE and SAVE more.
Thus, I changed my motto and revisited the following lessons.
WHY GIVE THEN SAVE?
1. Giving teaches you to trust. Michael and I committed to giving the first 10% of our income forty-two years ago when we were first married. From that commitment, most of which went to our Church, we learned better how to trust God. When you are a cheerful giver and not a scrooge, you continually witness how much God gives first, and you learn to have financial assurance in what He provides.
Here is one example. Several years ago, Michael and I moved to Colorado part-time to be closer to the grandchildren. And after living in CO for a few weeks while walking my dog, I found a diamond wedding set in the dirt. All of the proper inquiries yielded no owners. Did I need it financially to survive? No, but In my heart, my Heavenly Father gave it to me, and I cherish it.
And here is a more recent example, "a fishes and loaves type story." This past summer, we visited Boston, MA, for my son's graduation from a Harvard leadership course. That Sunday, we walked to Mass and passed a beggar. I ignored him. The next day, I passed by him again and planned to re-ignore him when The Holy Spirit grabbed me, and I knew I needed to give. So I opened my wallet, spied $40 in cash, and gave the beggar a $20 bill. With my conscience cleared, I walked back to my son's apartment. When I opened my wallet, however, to my shock, there was my $40--NOT $20. That is the problem with this giving stuff; we expect bright lights and thunder. Instead, it is a quiet multiplication as silent and productive as the fishes and the loaves by Jesus. God's ways are not our ways.
2. Giving can change the life of another. Giving can also remove roadblocks from people's lives. Nearly thirty years ago, we gave a set of braces to the daughter of a close friend. This family had eleven children, and Megan was the eldest. Megan wrote me years later on Facebook, after she'd married, had three children, and received her doctorate in professional counseling in 2014. She stated:
"Hi, Mrs. King!
I want to say thank you to your and your family. When I think through my life and the things that really changed its trajectory, I often think about your family paying for me to have braces. It gave me confidence and opened up opportunities that I would not have had otherwise. I am sure having four children of your own required sacrifice on your family's part. I just want you to know that I am forever grateful for it and hope to help others as your family helped me."
3. And in giving first, it allows God to introduce you to The Jehovah Jireh Store.
The Jehovah Jireh Store comes from Genesis 22:14, where God provided for Father Abraham an animal sacrifice in place of Abraham's only son, Issac. It reads, "And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh: as it is said this day, In the mount will the Lord be seen. (1599 Geneva Bible). Yes, when you give first, God provides, and it soon becomes clear that The Jehovah Jireh Store follows you around like the Internet. Here is an example.
I think about something I need. A few minutes later, I suddenly realize I have a substitute item that would work or find that exact thing. For instance, when we lived in Washington DC and renovated a place, I needed a glass measuring cup. Five minutes later, in the hall, as we were passing by, there was one such glass container covered with white paint. I washed off the white coating and had a free one-cup measure from The Jehovah Jireh Store!
This Store always supplies our needs, because when you provide for the poor and needy, God gives back by stretching what you have. Things last longer: clothes don't wear out: food goods stretch further, and you learn to trust more. Likewise, you gain a fuller sense of contentment with your possessions and begin to see how little we need to be happy.
IN CONCLUSION
So why GIVE then SAVE? When you commit to GIVE first, God will shower you with blessings--end of the story.
How do I know? I cannot explain why we have what we own at this point in my life. In 42 years, I haven't worked out of the home but once for a few months. Besides that stint, I've been a full-time wife, homemaker, mother, and homeschooling mom. (No income in those areas, folks.) Thus, we have survived on one salary. And I would add thrived. Why? Because we trusted that first 10 percent to God, and He returned 90 percent and more. "Give to God His 10 percent due and 90 percent blessed will He return to you."
The scripture reads:
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.
Those aren't empty words but words of promise and financial hope. Don't withhold from God what He uses far better than we do. Try giving that 10 percent, or even 1 percent if you are afraid, and watch the miracles. You can never outgive God.
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Martha Wild King, M.Ed., Author
The Frugal Catholic: Learn to live on less to give and save more.
