TALKING ABOUT GIVING

          How often have you gotten up in front of a group and talked about giving? Were you comfortable? What topics did you cover?

          I think it is really difficult to talk about money sometimes, especially when the focus is on asking for money or talking about our own relationship with money. When we ask someone to talk about giving, often the follow-up question is “what should I talk about?”

          I am going to work on a series about talking about giving by covering different points that could be covered in a “talk.”

          The first couple of questions require us to consider our own relationship with money, particularly before we start doing an “ask.” These questions are important when you are working on a personal budget or getting out of debt or dealing with other personal financial issues.

• 1.   How is money a spiritual issue for you?

Too often money is viewed as a “worldly” thing, or an evil thing. But money should be a spiritual issue for us, especially as Christians. Matthew 6:24 says we can’t serve two masters: God and money. But that does not mean that money isn’t a spiritual thing. The very beginning of Genesis says that “God created”. That means that everything God created is good. We have money, yes, and it is used to pay bills and “make the world go round,” but it really enables God’s work to be done in the world. So we have to focus on the spiritual reality of money and what it means to us. How do we view money in our own lives?

• 2.   Who helped you think differently about money and faith?

Think about how you viewed money as a child. A lot of that will focus on how money was viewed in your own family, by your parents and others. Did you feel poor or rich? How was money talked about? Were they positive conversations, or did talks about money always lead to an argument? How we experienced “money” growing up usually says a lot about how we view money as adults. But, when money becomes a spiritual issue, consider how that happens. Was there someone who you knew or know that was a generous person, that gave generously at church or in other ways? How did their view of money and generosity and faith change your own views of money and faith?

          I admit talking about money can be hard, but we need to consider prayerfully our own relationship with money and generosity before we can ever talk about it, and especially talk about faith and money at the same time.

          What is your personal relationship with money?