Even before Thanksgiving arrives our mail boxes begin to fill with, not only Christmas catalogs, but also a smattering of appeal letters from various organizations. The letters seek to solicit donations from people who hopefully are developing a generous spirit as the holiday season arrives. Many organizations rely upon these yearly appeals to support a major portion of their budgets for the year. Numerous studies report that 33% of all yearly online donations for non-profits take place during the month of December. This year in particular people’s needs are in high profile. The unemployed are highlighted as struggling to meet basic needs, let alone having any hope of sharing a gift with anyone else. The spotlight is upon military families with a parent overseas who find this season especially difficult emotionally and financially. On the minds of many people are the individuals in the northeast corridor of the nation struggling physically, emotionally, and financially to recover from the devastating impacts of hurricane Sandy – the monster storm that relentlessly delivered lingering hardship upon millions of people in the region. Taking a more global view of the world, we observe nations of the world struggling with war, famine, disease, and economic poverty. These glimpses touch our hearts with even micro glimpses sparingly released by the national media. All of this stirs the hearts of many in the nation, and they respond by making either an electronic or physical donation. They hope their action might in some way assuage a measure of pain and provide some semblance of comfort to a person facing a world of hurt.
It is indeed wonderful to see how many people in our community and nation respond to the needs they see around them in the world. On the other hand there are those who convince themselves that their own plight is too great to be able to respond. Somehow they transform their abundance into meagerness and see generosity as an impossibility. How can one conjure up such a mindset when the World Bank indicates that 3 billion people are living on less than $3.00 per day? There is a great difference between having to forgo a luxury and being unable to acquire a necessity. Granted one individual’s donation will hardly make a dent on the massive need within the world. Yet, joining with others who choose to respond generously to the needs they see, does make a difference.
What we do with our funds and possessions is noticed by God. During the earthly ministry of Jesus he observed people making donations to the Temple (Mark 12:41-44), a portion of which may have been used to care for those in need. In doing so he observed “one poor widow” making a donation that would amount to 1/64th of a day’s wage – all told, a meager amount. He also saw a wealthy person making a substantial gift. Jesus’ assessment was, “This poor widow has put in more than all who have given to the treasury.” What was Jesus seeing? John Calvin suggests it was her heart, saying, “Whatever men offer to God ought to be estimated not by its apparent value, but only by the feeling of the heart.” Jesus noticed that the wealthy gave out of their abundance, but “she out of her poverty put in all she had.” Such giving reflected her heart.
Shortly before Thanksgiving in 1992, I was in Ukraine visiting and working with our sister church. The nation was in financial collapse. Food shortages abounded. People sold or bartered their earthly possessions on the street hoping to acquire food to eat. Our church had been shipping aid to the church and they were dispensing it to the people of the church and community. We were there to assess the situation and plan further action. After the few days with them we were scheduled to take a night train to Kiev to connect another train for Moscow – 24 hours of travel by train. From Moscow we would catch a flight home arriving a few days before Thanksgiving. We began our journey being escorted to the train by hundreds from the congregation. Farewells and tears flowed as we boarded the train. A widow handed me a small brown paper package as I stepped on the train as it began to move.
After securing our luggage, my eyes spotted the small package I had been given at the last moment. Sitting on the sleeper bed I untied the well-used string. Upon seeing the contents, tears began to whelm up in my eyes. There on my lap sat a small loaf of dark Ukrainian bread, and a can stamped, “USDA Humanitarian Aid – Meat – Not for sale.” She hadn’t sold it. This widow in love gave out of her poverty all that she had. In that act, on a snowy train platform in Zaporozhe, Ukraine, I got a glimpse of the proper spirit of giving. She wanted to give so that her brother in Christ would not go hungry on his journey.
During this Thanksgiving, give thanks that you can give, and then give. You can determine before God where your donation should go. Don’t worry about the size. Just make sure it reflects a heart that loves God and loves “your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:34-40).
