How to Give

When you think of generosity what comes to mind? Is what comes to mind something that others do? Or maybe, you think about something you received. Is this word something that brings joy when you hear it or regret?

I have had the opportunity to ask questions like this to numerous clients I have worked with both as a financial advisor and as a fundraiser. I’ve received a wide array of responses to these questions.

• Oh, I’m not generous.
• I’d like to give more but I can’t.
• I give to my church but I’d like to stop.
• You can’t outgive God!
• I can’t take it with me!
• I want to help others like I have been helped.
• Let them help themselves.
• Someone else will help.
• I don’t have the money to give.

When I was in college, I was working as an accountant. I remember telling my CFO that I never want to speak in front of people or have to ask them for money. God was listening to me make this statement and He knew better about how I was made and what I could do! It wasn’t that long after this statement that I started as a fundraiser!

I was nervous because I was afraid of the more negative comments I might hear. I was afraid of what I knew was in my own heart about my money. It’s hard to give it up! It’s hard to release what you think is yours to give it to someone else. Becoming a fundraiser, I was embodying those fears by asking someone else to process them and respond to me.

As both a fundraiser and financial advisor, I have looked to the wisdom found in Jesus’s words in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6:1-4:

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

There is a lot of wisdom packed into these 4 verses. And a lot that goes against what we may want, that’s the hard part.

Do you want to be noticed when you do something nice for someone else? I know, I do! When I do something for someone else that I don’t “have to” I would at least like the acknowledgement that I did something extra. However, Jesus tells us the exact opposite!

I’ve participated in some charity events where generosity was very public and celebrated. They were a lot of fun! However, I know that I received my rewards which was the pleasure from the accolades I received from others and who I thought that made me to be in their minds. I found my importance in making those gifts.

If you pay attention to any of Jesus’s teachings you know that He was first and foremost concerned with our hearts. In all things and in every way He has been trying to speak to our hearts. He is doing so again in this passage.

I love that the question he addresses in this passage is not “why” should we give but “how” we should give! We see that by His use of the words “whenever you give” and “when you give.” His words are anticipating our actions. He knows that as we are changed from our old way to the new way He is making us that we cannot do anything but think of others. It’s important to our own well being to think of others.

Righteousness refers to our right standing with God, ourselves and others. “Practicing acts of righteousness” means that we are simply doing the things that keep us in right standing. Giving to others breaks the grip of greed in our hearts. If all we do by giving to others is seek the praise of others we are short-circuiting the benefit we ultimately receive from our acts of right standing!

Giving is something you need! Giving is something I need! Our giving is actually more beneficial to ourselves than it is merely to those receiving. It helps reinforce in our hearts that others are more important than things. It helps us keep an abundance mindset instead of a scarcity-mindset.

What does this passage tell us about who God is?

It tells us that God is our Father. It tells us that He is always with us, “your Father who sees in secret.” He is generous.

What does this passage tell us about what God does?

He knows us. He knows our hearts. He knows what we do. He calls us to be our best selves, who He created us to be. He rewards us for fulfilling our created purposes!

What does this passage tell us about who we are?

We are beloved sons and daughters. We were made to be generous. Our hearts need to be generous.

What does this passage tell us about what we do?

We give to express our true generosity, not to receive praise from other people. We give to show our understanding of who we are (made in His image to be generous). We express the understanding that what we have is not ours and was given to us by God. We give because He invites us to help others. We give because doing so keeps our hearts untied to wealth.

Now that we have our hearts in the right place, how do we practically give?

First item in your budget

My wife and I make it the first item in our budget. You do what you prioritize. We don’t look at anything else in our budget before we prayerfully work through how much we are called to give. I like automatic giving. It’s like automatic savings. I am able to set up with my church and other charities a recurring monthly contribution. It’s a great way to work it into my budget and make sure I do this priority every month! We also pray about what stretch giving goals God is calling us to set. We give cash, checks, and give by credit/debit cards (don’t go into debt for giving!).

Give appreciated securities

If you own securities like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, etc., that have appreciated in value, you can receive additional tax savings by donating those to a qualified charity.

Example: John & Jane regularly give $10,000 to their church. They have done it by writing checks to their church. They currently use the standard deduction for filing their federal taxes and receive no additional tax savings from making this gift. BUT they have an ETF that has appreciated in value. They own an ETF that is worth 25% more than they had invested. After reviewing with their advisor, they decide to make a gift of $10,000 in shares of the appreciated ETF to their church. Their church receives those shares, sells them and pays no capital gains on the proceeds from the sale. John & Jane receive the tax benefit of passing along the $2,500 in capital gains that they would otherwise have to recognize if they sold the ETF personally.

Give Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs.

If you are age 70.5 or older, you may benefit from making a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA (not Roth IRAs). This is a tax-free donation from your individual retirement account (IRA) to a qualified charity. The benefits to you is that the donation is not included in your taxable income. Additionally, if you have required minimum distributions (RMDs) to achieve from your IRA, this gift counts towards those RMDs!

Giving is such an important part of our financial plans. It is important for our ability to keep our God given purpose in front of us instead of money or the things that money can buy. Giving feeds our heart and soul when we do it without the desire to receive praise and accolades from other people. God knows what we need and we need to give!