GRATITUDE
OR GREED #3?
I’m continuing my discussion on gratitude
versus greed. Last week, I talked about being grateful for what we have now.
This is the way to find a balance in our finances.
Have you seen posts on Facebook where
people make a post every day saying something they’re thankful for? That
requires a conscious decision to choose the positive over the negative. Some people
start a “thankful” journal, where each day they write down three or four things
they are thankful for. That’s a lot of thankful, isn’t it?
Not only is it a lot of thankful
items, but coming up with all those positive things, requires you to practice
being grateful. And being grateful influences your attitude and perspective.
What if our churches practices being
grateful? Too many times, we focus on what we can’t do, the money that isn’t in
our checking account, and how few people are in our pews, or the lack of
children. We spend our time focusing on “if only”.
A few years ago, I was asked by a
church to speak to the congregation about their “financial realities.” The
church leaders didn’t want to give bad news to the congregation, and thought an
“outsider” would be the way to go. That way, when the congregation became
angry, they had someone to blame.
I agreed to speak, but I also
insisted that the leaders speak. I didn’t want them to talk about bad news,
about what they didn’t have, about possibly letting staff go, or stopping ministry.
I wanted them to talk about what that church has consistently been able to do
in the past, solely because of the generosity of the congregation. I also insisted
that not just the financial people, but other folks, teachers, youth,
missionaries, people who had participated in the ministries of that church, get
up and share those stories. Then, and only then, did I agree to speak,
reinforcing the gratitude and the thanksgivings, but stressing that those positive
stories happened because of them.
It was up to them to determine what
ministries were going to be able to continue, and money and finances were a way
of funding those ministries.
Of course, some people were upset,
and some were sad, but they heard the stories of thanksgiving, and within two
months, were able to raise additional pledges that allowed ministries to
continue.
Let
us being thankful, not reaching for our wallets, but reaching for God. Practice
gratefulness. Practice may not make perfect, but our hearts will change!
REMINDER: The Stewardship Academy is
being held April 23rd, May 21st, June 18th and
July 16th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you are interested in a
registration form or information on the academy itself, please let me know (susanranous@unyumc.org)
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