Category Archives: Financial Struggles

Giving Gladly

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Black Friday brought bright news throughout the land: shoppers bought more than expected, causing statistics to jump 22% from last year. Even better was the 39% increase in food purchases the day before Thanksgiving. Maybe times are a-changin’.

This weekend the girls and I initiated the Christmas season by watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Jim Carrey’s rubber face and crazy antics made the movie a hit, but little “Cindy Lou Who” did a pretty good job convincing Whoville that Christmas wasn’t just about pretty packages.

Of course local retailers hope it is all about packages. But when family money is tight, purchasing in all categories goes down, particularly extras like gifts. At the end of the season, numbers gurus will let us know whether or not we spent enough to make a positive difference in our country’s all-but-non-existent financial recovery.

During belt-tightening times, charities suffer severely, which includes churches. A recent Sunday morning worship service at my church included a challenging children’s sermon. As the kids came forward, they couldn’t help but notice the pastor was holding a giant container of animal crackers. When they got there, he gave one to each of them, telling them, “Don’t eat it. Go out into the congregation and give it to someone else.”

This assignment met with some reluctant givers, but eventually they all did as instructed, returning to the front afterwards. “Now,” the pastor said. “I’m going to give you each two more animal crackers. This time, give one away and then you can eat the other one.” It was smiles all around as they dashed into the congregation to share what they had.

Then the pastor made his point: “God blesses us for one reason: so we can bless someone else.” It was a powerful sermonette, and not just for the children.

Sometimes we adults struggle to give, not wanting to let go. But if we truly believe God knows our needs and loves us enough to follow through on providing, it should be painless to give away our surplus. And more than that, it should be fun.

When doubts crowd in, Scripture offers reassurance: “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” (Proverbs 11:24) God knows it can be hard, but he’s watching for people who aren’t just willing to give but who do it with eagerness and a smile. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

The pastor’s message must have sunk in deeply with our congregation, because at the end of the fiscal year, we had a significant surplus and had the delightful problem of wondering what to do with it all. But we didn’t have to wonder very long. Even the children could have told us: “Give it away!”

And that’s what we did.

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. And God is able to bless you abundantly.” (2 Corinthians 9:6,8a)

The Buffett Zone

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Warren Buffett, the world’s richest person, has recently been in the news promoting a new approach to our country’s taxes, but there are a number of other things about him more interesting than that. His name, for example: Buffett.

I once heard an interview in which his grandchild said, “He doesn’t give us money unless it’s college tuition. He’s happy to pay for those expenses, but other than that doesn’t give us anything.”

And that’s where his interesting name comes in. The word “buffet” is a potent King James Bible word many of us cut our spiritual teeth on when we were kids. It means to strike against or push repeatedly. Mr. Buffett apparently recognizes that a little life-buffeting is a valuable thing.

Although I know nothing about the man’s spiritual point of view, his reasoning on the buffeting idea falls in line with Scripture. The biblical Paul mentions he’d been buffeted, listing it along with being hungry, thirsty, homeless and naked. His purpose was to warn new believers about what was ahead, urging them to persevere. He told them God would use the weak as strong voices for his saving message.

In another place Paul wrote about Satan buffeting him personally by way of physical pain. He again reminds readers God often displays great power through weak humans if they can rise above pain by taking advantage of God’s sufficient grace to endure.

All of us have been in the Buffet Zone now and again, bumping up against obstacles much like passengers in carnival bumper cars slam into one another. Warren Buffett has refused to use money to shield his grandchildren from the bumps and bruises of life, since those are the basis for a practical education in the “school of hard buffeting-knocks.”

The King James translation includes one more dramatic, instructional use of the word “buffet.” It’s used to describe the blows delivered to Jesus after his arrest: “They spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands.” (Matthew 26:67) And how did Jesus react?

He took it.

It was unfair… blasphemous… hurtful… evil. But he took it.

By responding to extreme, undeserved buffeting in this way, Jesus became our example. We’re to garner inner strength from the Father as he did, counting on him to meet out justice on our behalf. This goes against our natural instincts to lash back and get even. It also contradicts what we’re taught by the world. But becoming fully dependent on God for rescue leaves it up to him to control the buffeting and also the retribution.

This approach sounds risky, but counting on the sufficient grace of God always turns out to be a good risk.

“What glory is it, if, when you are buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently? But if, when you do well and suffer for it you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” (1 Peter 2:20)

God’s promises… for who?

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Yesterday’s blog was about a surprise gift from God that came when least expected, but that was only the beginning.

During those days I’d been crying out for some sense of God’s presence. Did he know how severe our situation was? Was he watching? Did he care? Would his promises apply to us?

I believed the verse that says, “receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) but God didn’t seem to be following through on that. Talking to him without hearing back reminded me of talking on the phone with a child at my elbow who was also talking to me. Although she saw me standing quietly with the phone against my ear, seemingly available to her, I was really listening to someone else, irritated by her questions.

Was that God? Listening to others? Irritated by my talking to him?

Desperate to hear from him, I’d taken a long walk in the early morning darkness, begging out loud for his response. “You’ve just got to help us! Tell me something, show me something, do something to prove you’re still there!”

And then the box came.

As I dug through the layers of colorful little-girl clothes, I came to the bottom and found a white envelope with my name on it. Opening it, I was shocked when a pile of paper money fell to the floor, along with a hand-written note:

“Here is a gift for you made possible through the grace of God, who has given me an abundance over the past couple of months. God hopes that those He helps will share with those around them. I would like to share with you.”


I gasped at such unexpected generosity from my new friend Becky and was humbled by her gift. Stooping to gather up the bills, I counted out $341, an absolute fortune! She and I were just in the getting-acquainted stage of our friendship, though, and I felt  I couldn’t keep the money.

Calling to express my amazement and explain why I shouldn’t accept her lavish gift, I was stunned by her simple response: “How many times a day do we both tell our children to be nice and share? That’s all I’m doing.”

Becky convinced me to keep the money, and I was exceedingly grateful. A second gift that day was that God convinced me he was very close, hearing every prayer, aware of our needs (the clothes, the money) and even our wants (the flowered dress). These gifts, funneled through Becky’s willingness to be his instrument of ministry, persuaded me that his promises were true after all.

And they even applied to the Nymans.

“You … answer prayer; to you all people will come. You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth.” (Psalm 65:2,5)