Podcasts

Does Giving Cause Pain?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

In Hebrews 12:11 it says,  “At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain.” Is giving a cause for pain? Giving, especially when we give as God calls us to give, as the Church teaches – sacrificially, can seem to be a cause for pain. We worry almsgiving will be painful as it will probably force us to give up spending on things and activities that are more fun and enjoyable. 

Discipleship calls for us to be disciplined in our giving. Budgeting requires discipline. Most of us think of budgeting as a painful exercise that can feel like drudgery. But, think of budgeting as a conversation – a heart-to-heart between you and your spouse, and you and God. Talk through your plans for spending the resources God provides. And in that, determine how much of those resources will go to almsgiving. 

Tithing imposes disciplined priority in your budget. It is your positive declaration that like Joshua, you will serve the Lord (Josh 24:15). Attitude, the desire to want to give, the willingness to detach from the desire for more stuff are integral to the process. Prepare a budget with tithing as the first spending item and see what happens. 

Generosity is the salve that eases the pain of financial worries.The passage in Hebrews 12 goes on to say that discipline eventually brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness. The discipline of Giving sacrificially is your intentional acknowledgment of God’s authority in your life. Giving to causes you care about brings meaning and purpose to your life. Giving brings you joy!

Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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Peace on Earth

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Peace. Isn’t that one of the main things we all want in our life, sometimes, desperately so? Peace, peace of mind, less worry and stress. But in Luke 12:51, we’re thrown a curve ball. Jesus says, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

Peace on earth is most often thought to be the absence of conflict, the lack of hostilities, no war. In our personal lives, we often think that having material wealth will bring us peace and reduce our stress. And money may bring a sense of peace in the moment. But that is the world’s peace. We know that peace is fleeting.  

Now I know from my work with clients that planning is important. While we certainly should be thoughtful about providing for our needs today and in the future. The most important need for the future – the main thing I talked about last week – is our eternal life in heaven! Jesus gives us the best financial planning advice to obtain eternal life:

Earlier in Luke, verses 33 and 34, He advises to sell your belongings and give alms so that you’ll have inexhaustible treasure in heaven, because where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

He said this in Matthew 19:21, too: “If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

This is Jesus’s way to peace. This is how good stewards manage their financial life. When we step out in faith, trust God to provide, and give to the poor, it causes us to prioritize our spending. Making almsgiving as our first priority is seeking God first with our finances. A mindset of generosity is the pathway to peace, the peace beyond understanding. 

So, Put God First. Give alms and gain that sense of peace that you truly seek. 

            “But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you,”—St. Luke (11:41) 

                                                                                                                                                                                           Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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The Main Thing

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Keep the main thing the main thing. Stephen Covey popularized this adage to encourage us to get our priorities right. Our highest priority, the most important main thing in life as a Christian is our faith and trust in Jesus Christ so that we may have eternal life. 

The world–Wall Street and advertisers–tell us different. They bombard us with messages about what we need to do and what we need to have to be thought well of in society. They tell us that we don’t yet have enough of what we need to be happy and successful. We don’t yet have enough to feel secure. And so, we worry and fret and strive to accumulate more stuff and grow our bank accounts.

Jesus offers us an alternative approach to find security and satisfaction. He invites us into the kingdom of God where God promises us lavish abundance, inexhaustible treasure. The price of admission is to sell our belongings and give alms. We read about this in Luke 12:33-34. Selling off assets to then turn around and give the proceeds away demands that we be detached from our stuff. This frees us to give alms to supply the needs of the poor, thus honoring God with our wealth. Detachment requires trust. This is how we demonstrate our faith and trust in God. 

This is counter cultural. It sounds scary. But take courage. Jesus tells us in verse 32, “Do not be afraid any longer.” We can trust Him. Trust comes from faith, faith in Jesus–the main thing.. 

Are you ready to accept Jesus’s invitation to buy that ticket to that inexhaustible treasure? If not, is your hesitation that your heart is not really in it? That’s okay, give alms anyway. Put your treasure where God can use it to help the poor, because where you put your treasure, there is your heart.

Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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What Does It Take to be Rich?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

We know rich when we see it. Wall Street and Madison Avenue do a great job of telling us what we need to have and what we knee to be out doing if we’re to be rich. They seduce us to want ever more and more. But, we are not what we own. Jesus tells us in Luke 12 to guard against greed. He tells us plainly that life does not consist of possessions. 

Why do we strive so hard to acquire more? You’ve heard those old sayings – “You can’t take it with you.” And “there’s no trailer hitch on a hearse.” These might be cliché, but they’re true. So why do we succumb to greed, to yearn for more stuff? It is draining. It saps us of our energy while increasing the stress in our lives. It is vanity of vanities to toil thus says Qoheleth (Ecc. 1:3).

When it comes to money, isn’t it that we often strive to increase our investment accounts because we worry that we will not have enough to provide for ourselves and our family in the future. That worry is our apprehension rooted in a fear of scarcity. But, we have a God of abundance who loves us and promises to provide for us. Our energies are better directed to seeking His kingdom, trusting Him that He will give us all we need.

Let’s be mindful of how much of our time and energy goes into acquiring possessions. Let’s recognize how this distracts us from putting God first in every area of our lives, striving to be rich in what matters to Him (21).

St Augustine said that “The superfluities of the rich are the necessities of the poor.” So think for a moment – does your spending honor God’s priority and authority in your life? Is your almsgiving a true blessing to the poor? How can you bring yourself and others closer to God by your generosity, by sharing more of your possessions to bless those in need?

Be generous. Give joyfully. 

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Persevere in Prayer

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

St. Luke shares how Jesus tells us how generous God is to those who persevere in prayer, “He will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.” (Lk 11:8) I know it can seem sometimes as if God does not hear our prayer, or if He does, He doesn’t answer–at least now how and when we want. But how many times have I looked back and, with hindsight, seen how He did, in fact, answer my prayer. And how often was His answer and timing way better than anything I could have imagined, or known to ask for? I am truly blessed! How wonderful are the blessings He gives. 

What do blessings look like? My “a-ha” realization of what a blessing looks like came when I finally ceded control of my budget to God. That made it easier to simplify my life. I prioritized spending and made God the first category of expense, which allowed us to redirect money to go to support charities that do Works of Mercy. That brings me joy. This obedience to God’s commands to gives us more freedom on how we spend the rest of our budget. This reduces stress and worry in our financial life. These are the blessings I receive, and more.

The more is – the truth that we can trust that God always hears our prayers. We can trust that He has our best interests at heart. He provides abundantly. We can trust that when we sincerely repent, He always forgives our sins. He lavishes us with His love and mercy. With these gifts of love, mercy, and forgiveness, confident in their availability to us for the asking in faith, we get His peace, His joy, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and grace – God persistently giving Himself to us. In other words –  Blessings! 

Receiving God’s blessings is not a tit-for-tat proposition whereby we give and pray and so are rewarded with earthly, material benefits. God may choose to provide those to us, or He may not. He is in control. We are to pray and trust.

St. Padre Pio said it this way, “Pray, hope, don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayers.” Persevere in prayer and receive the best of God’s blessings. Pray, give, trust, hope, and find the peace of mind you truly seek. 

Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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