Giving Isn’t Always Easy

Sometimes it’s very difficult to give money when we are asked to help others in need.  Many families live “paycheck to paycheck” and every dollar spent must be scrutinized.  As much as we empathize with the devastating conditions in other countries, it’s very difficult to part with our hard earned dollars.

But when we give, we receive.  Many televangelist and preachers say that God will bless us 10-fold when we give, especially to their ministry.  Prosperity preachers have built huge organizations on the promise that if we give “seed money” the rewards will be beyond our imagination.  Well, I surely don’t presume to guarantee what God will or will not do.  Anyone who promises that God will behave in one way or another has a distorted and dangerous concept of who God is.  Such promises are usually designed to enrich the one making the “promise”.

So what do I mean with I say “When we give, we receive”?

A few years ago, I decided to make a bucket list.  As I became older, I began think more about my life priorities and what I want to achieve before I die.  The top of my bucket list was….I want to personally give a starving child a drink of water in the Sudan desert.  Pictures coming from the Sudan over the years have made a lasting impression on me and I always dreamed of physically feeding these devastated children.  Unfortunately, I doubt if I will ever be able to fulfill that desire.  Civil war in the Sudan prevents me from considering travel.  Several American relief workers have already been killed and it’s a very dangerous environment for anyone.

However, I have been able to help many children in Haiti and Africa through Child Hope Worldwide Inc.  I value these precious lives and I continue to do what I can to enhance their existence.  So when I give my personal time and resources, I receive.  I receive the joy and satisfaction that an orphan child has a safe place to sleep, food to eat and the hope of a better life.  If my efforts only save one child, I receive peace and satisfaction that I helped a child survive in a hopeless situation.  I sleep better knowing another human being went to bed without hunger pains.  So when I give, yes, I receive.

Tom Murphy, President

Child Hope Worldwide Inc dba givenet.org