Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Essential To Donate, But Give Efficiently

Sure are lots of folks with their hands out.

Funds are necessary to support activities, and it takes assistance so they survive and prosper. As incredible as the number needing resources and conducting drives to collect them is the amount so graciously and abundantly given in support. No question one ought to give. The Bible tells us so, and there is no greater feeling than helping another.


Collecting donations, we have been on the beggar’s side more often than we like to admit. If a person is going to be involved in a group doing worthwhile endeavors, subsidy is necessary, and somebody must “do the dirty work.”

First time we remember having our hands out was in the third grade. We had to sell 10-cent carnival tickets and made our self sick going up and down Main Street asking
everybody we saw to buy one. Since then, life has called us many times to go door-to-door seeking funds to provide for a specific cause. We’ve done it, but often not joyfully.

From the other side, we are contributors. Not as freely as some whom we commend, but we do give to many activities: youth, saddle club drawings, horse show auctions, and on and on. Our biggest contribution goes to support the Lord’s work. That’s where we receive our blessings. Even if His gifts can’t be bought, we help spread His word.

Where should one make contributions? Most requests are for a worthy cause. The question is how much of the dollar goes to that need? Is it 100 percent, 90 percent, or just 10 percent or less? There are costs to raise funds for universities, Salvation Army and United  Way, for example. Not that we want to pick on them, but they beg the loudest.

Excellent charities succeed because their resources are not tied up in fund raising. They find creative ways to spend less to raise more, thereby maximizing the resources they can devote to their programs. Local charities deserve the first look, because typically all of their funds are used in the local community and overhead is volunteered.

Tithe means to give one-tenth of
income or goods for support of a cause. Throughout the Bible, references are
made of tithing to spread God’s word. People have various opinions, but simply
it means giving some of what we have to help another. This doesn’t have to be
money. Time, talent or products-in-kind are often just as beneficial.

Orders are given in Leviticus 27:30: “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.” Sound advice comes in Second Corinthians 9:7: “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

In Luke 18:12, Jesus said, “I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”

+++ALLELUIA+++

II–3–1-20-08

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