What Does Our Giving Say About Us?
Happy Holidays. I trust you’re doing well and staying safe, warm, and healthy as you prepare for the new year. A special shout out to all our nation’s Veterans. These selfless servants who always give above and beyond what’s asked.
Christmas and all religious holidays represent a special time of giving. Perhaps during this special time, we can all ask ourselves: “What does our giving say about us?”
Watching the endless crowds of people shopping, it seems that every department store is filled with people who find it very easy to give of themselves. I have no idea how money people will spend on Christmas this year, but I’m sure the final tally will represent billions of dollars for businesses that came from those for whom “giving is second nature.”
I’m sure everyone’s motives for giving gifts at Christmas are well-intentioned. But what happens after Christmas is over and birthdays are celebrated? Perhaps this is when we learn what our giving really says about us.
True “givers” are those who give every day, 365 days a year. They are the ones who give to those they love and to those they may not even know. This type of giving is rooted in our very souls and genuinely comes from the heart. Those who give – give gladly to others and they do so from grateful heats for all that God has given them.
They give gladly each day to those less fortunate, to the broken-hearted, to the lost, to the homeless, to Veterans who have sacrificed much, and to anyone who needs a helping hand.
Someone once said: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” Giving from the heart changes lives, offers new beginnings, gives opportunities to start anew, inspires second chances, creates new and lasting friendships, makes the world a better place to live; and the best reason of all to give – giving can change us.
I love the story of the Prodigal Son that we find in the Gospel of Luke. The young man demanded his inheritance from his father (prematurely I might add). He certainly hadn’t done anything to warrant this gift from his father. And when his father obliged – the boy squandered his entire inheritance on things unworthy of such a costly gift. It was only when he had lost everything, found himself in a pig pen surrounded by hungry pigs, that he made the long journey home. Home to where his father had been waiting for his son’s return. And the young lad rehearsed what he would say when he saw his father again. He confessed: “Father, I have sinned and no longer worthy to be called your son.” But his father did what all good givers do. He threw a party for his son, put the best robe on him, a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet, and then smothered him with love, compassion, and a giving heart.
You see, giving like this has a way of changing everything. Richard Foster wrote: “Giving with a glad and generous heart has a way of routing out the tough old miser within all of us. Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the act of letting go of money or some other treasure does something within us – that something is – it destroys the demon greed.”
Here at Save A Veteran Today, we are endeavoring to be “good neighbors” — to give from grateful hearts, to give without expecting anything in return, to give to those who need it and even to those who don’t, to give until it hurts, to give to any and all who are asking for help. We are doing our best to serve the needs of our veterans wherever they are on life’s journey.
Please join us in the New Year by helping us to serve the needs of our nation’s Veterans. To provide counseling, shelter, food, clothing, and life-changing opportunities for health and happiness. What will your giving say about you? Your compassionate giving will speak volumes of a giving heart that will serve to transform lives.
Please visit us at: https://saveaveterantoday.org and please donate to this dynamic mission.
Your servant in His Service,
Fr. Michael Tinnon
Founder, Save A Veteran Today