Got Giving?
by CEM staff member C. Perl

He did it the wrong way . . . but that was because we're doing it right.

Have you noticed that when non-profits say "giving," what they often mean is "receiving"? Yet the bottom line of any ministry can't be to receive gifts, but to give to those we serve. We cease to be relevant when we fail to do this. We also cease to be re-energized, for as Helen Keller put it: "The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves."
 
I think back to a prisoner who was taking the Bible Correspondence School courses. One day, we received a lesson from him that was riddled with mistakes. Failure? Not at all. The note he attached shed light on how the Mission was fulfilling its call. He wrote: "Sorry I did this test so quickly. I wanted to receive mail back as soon as possible."
 
In other words, by giving, we touched this student in his aching loneliness where he most immediately and viscerally needed us: we were his human touch outside prison walls. Sure, he didn't grow much theologically from that one lesson. But Christ, transported in a Bible course, opened up his cell and let us give him something he desperately needed.
 
Then there is the giving that turns lives around. For example, we recently had a giveaway in which listeners called in to compete for prizes. One caller told us how, back in his wild years, he stumbled onto WBMJ. As a result, he accepted Christ.
 
After the giveaway, he was exhilarated to talk to someone from the station. But it was equally exhilarating for us to hear how our routine duties actually changed his life.
 
Time for a confession. Giving can be drudgery. It can be all too easy to lose sight of how important our mission is when we look at our lives through the lens of the mundane. Believe it or not, even in Christian organizations, routine duties, office politics and yes, even boredom (gasp!) make us forget that giving is an intoxicating way to bring a breath of fresh air to someone's day.
 
But then, out of the blue, someone tells us how we made them less lonely, or how Christ filled their void through us. Move over, Red Bull. This is the stuff that refuels us.
 
In both these cases, the testimonies stirred us to keep on giving, and giving cheerfully. It is telling, though, that it was only because we were giving to others (in one case, lessons; in the other, prizes) that we had the chance to hear how our giving impacted people. If we stop giving, we stop refueling.
 
One final note. We are in the business of giving to you because we want you to pass the blessings along. So give to those around you. The results can be exhilarating.