Elizabeth O'Conner - Proportionate Giving

Gordon Cosby urged his listeners to reclaim for "ourselves the energy with which we have endowed money." I have found that I have endowed money over the years with ability. "Do we have the money to move forward with a project or a special event?" is the question that usually proceeds the question of whether God would want us to advance the project. Karen and I have seen this in our marriage and family as well. We don't ask the question on purpose, but more as a natural response. In recent years, we have been trying to train our natural self to ask the question, "What would God have us do?" before we ask if we can afford it.

When we were first married, we would not have had the experience to trust God and the faith to follow through. I love the quote, "None of us has to be an accountant to know what 10 percent of a gross income is, but each of us has to be a person on his knees before God if we are to understand our commitment to proportionate giving." The adoption process and the thousands of dollars over the past two years, have taught us the value of giving proportionately and giving to God proportionately first. It is then we are granted the gift of giving beyond our means.

Jesus tells the story of a farmer that finds a pearl in the field. He sells everything so as to purchase the land and have the great treasure. We have sold everything in order to have the treasure of Kendyll and Nathan. We sold it all to buy the treasure. The rich life of being a follower of Jesus is that as we trust in him, he provides our needs and then we discover the gift of sacrificing the good for the opportunity to grasp the greater good.

You know I love ya, Don