Today's Devotional

November 21,  2005

 

Subject:  When The Heart Overwhelms The Head

Act 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope."

An article in today's MSNBC website read like this: "Officials at some of the nation's biggest food charities fear that “donor fatigue” may have set in, with people’s charitable instincts stretched to the limit in a year of an uncommon number of tragedies.  Donations are down in this year and the number of people needing help are significantly up."

Donor fatigue???  Not on my watch!!!   

I've always thought of my giving as a private matter, where God touches my heart with a certain situation and I give because my heart is in it.  At our newly formed church in Prairie View, Texas, we don't have an offering period during worship, but every Sunday we take a few minutes to conduct a "Message On Giving."  During that time, we talk about what it means to be a giver or what giving is really all about.  We then point out that if someone wants to support God's business at The Immanuel Church, there is a receptacle in the rear of the building where money can be deposited.  After church I have the responsibility of collecting the monies and giving them to the church clerk.  I normally give once a month and I had already given last week, but when I simply saw the giving of many others on yesterday, I went home to see what more I could give so I wrote a check to join in.  It wasn't a matter of the fact that I had given my money for the month, I just simply wanted to give to be a part of what I knew God was doing.

My head may have said, "you've already given for the month," but when the heart overwhelms the head, we'll never get tired of giving.  Donor fatigue???  Not God's people!  We'll always be giving as He directs our hearts.

Carlen