Diversify Giving for Greater Impact

It’s in the Christian tradition to give to “those in greatest need,” and for the most part, the majority of us have incorporated that practice in our daily lives. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” For me, the practice of giving is sort of like brushing my teeth. I do it naturally and rarely unwillingly, and even when I am really tired from a long day or from travelling on business, I know at least cerebrally, that the “rewards” (clean teeth and fresh breath) outweigh the “cost” of the effort.

The sad part in our world today, is that the “need,” that is to say the misery, pain, hunger, oppression and exploitation around the globe outweighs what is “given” to help our fellow man. For those of us who care or who stop to fathom the magnitude of that “need,” it is a painful and overwhelming realization. For me, trusting in God’s greater plan, but tossing in my meagre contribution is the best I can do at a time when I am stressed to the max with the demands of work, family and life.

With gasoline prices in my neighbourhood at over $1.40 a litre, people are finding it hard to be able to commute to work. They are increasingly making additional sacrifices in other aspects of their daily lives to compensate for the financial “squeeze” they are facing. My neighbour for example just cancelled his family holiday to PEI where they rent a cottage every summer, and instead they will be visiting his sister's cottage in Northern Ontario for a week.

At times like these, it becomes more important for Christians to give in a strategic, thoughtful and targeted manner. What that means to me, is that I want to diversify my gifts over an array of worthy projects in multiple areas, so as to have an impact across the board. For our family, it has become a family project to collectively select worthy causes. We want to help children. We feel the need to support women who are exploited, abused, sold into the sex trade or chained to sewing machine in Southeast Asia...or to help a family become self-sufficient in their ability to feed itself or to help build a Christian school in a far-away place, where people have not experienced the love of God or can use the tangible spirit of Jesus in their lives.

Sometimes my friends will ask me why I give to those in need who are far away from our local “patch.” My answer usually is that I give to both, but that I hear the call for “mission” like the distant sound of the bagpipes in a deep and foggy glen. I know first-hand the degree of exponential transformation that a “gift” will have in the Christian lives of “the poorest souls” within our globe, and in this context, a tiny financial gift has such a tremendous and lasting impact in their tormented lives.

In these difficult times, I encourage you to explore ways of diversifying your gifts in a way that will bring maximum benefit to people in need and provide the satisfaction of blessing others with the presence of Jesus.

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Partners International is a registered Canadian charity and gifts are tax deductible.
As a member of Canadian Council of Christian Charities we adhere to their Standards of Integrity and Accountability.