Giving To Me

WED., FEB. 14, 1996, 8:36 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM

Let this be a continuation of part of the conversation in your group this morning… a clarification, hopefully, of My wishes for your giving. You are right in averring that I am not interested in money, per se. I have no preference for dollars over yen, marks, pesos… or cash over checks, or credit cards. My major interest is in the spirit in which you give, almost irrespective of to whom it is given or in what form. You are not as good at this as you’d like to be, not as consistent as you think you are.

Money, in its several forms, is a means rather than an end. It can purchase permanent or temporary shelter, basic to extravagant food, and essential to unnecessary medical care. It can be a help to people in need. It can be frittered away by individuals at every level of need.

Importantly, however, it can be a representation of your dedication to Me, the Triune God. At one extreme you could take a certain amount of money… actual money, not a check… and bury it in the ground, offering it to Me. If you were sincere I would accept it as your gift… your “giving back to Me”. At the other extreme you could invest money in some profitable venture, in My Name, in truth, and then give the accumulated principal and interest to the church or directly to some mission project. Mostly, you are somewhere in between these poles. You make some choices as to what and to whom you give, but remember, as often as you can, that you are finally giving it back to Me.

You almost have internalized My assertion that all that you have, in money, comes from Me. It is objectively clear that the money deposited to your account each month comes from the State of Illinois, some combination of tax revenues, tuition payments, and other various sources. You, because you pay some tax contribute slightly to your pay, as you do to the pay of everyone else at this institution. But I say that, for you, what you get comes from Me. This is mystical rather than rational.

Some of this is for necessities of life… and protections, such as your various forms of insurance. Some of it is for pleasures, as long as these are not excessive and overpriced. And then I want a portion to be given back to Me, in any one of several ways. You give generously to your church, as compared to most of your fellow members. For several years you gave directly to UCM. Now you are giving regularly to Andy’s Network. Then there are groups that directly help some people in need… Running Strong…, Covenant House, St. Labre. There are groups concerned for the health of animals, birds, land, and waters, and I have told you often that My major concern is for the sustainability of this whole web of life that I have created. As humans become more destructive and selfish, My favors to such diminish.

I want you to be more direct in offering what you do here, particularly in the classroom, to Me. If I state that I am finally the Source of what you are paid, then you give back to Me in teaching and counseling actions. Let Me be a more conscious part of what you do, say, and… who you are.

If you try to save too much money I see this as lack of faith in Me and My generosity. Take more chances in giving back to Me, in any of these several ways, and I shall be more pleased. Oh, I recognize that you can’t comfortably go too far with this giving, but give at least till its uncomfortable (short of “till it hurts”).

Part of the reason for your being in this culture at this time is the opportunity to grow spiritually by using your money for Me rather than for the myriad luxuries and pleasures that your culture offers. You actually are doing rather well… in not aspiring to much that this society values. Continue to live comfortably simple.