Supporting What We Believe In

So often, we hear about people getting burned out about supporting wealthy ministries and tired of all the charities calling for donations, and I would agree. I see no reason for a minister to need to be a millionaire and if G-d intended for him to be a millionaire, he wouldn't have to keep asking people for money, G-d would just give it to him! As for charities, they kind of shoot themselves in the foot with their political special interests and social agendas, not to mention anywhere up to 85% of the proceeds go to administrative costs. On the flip side of that, as much as I don't want to pay for a preacher's mc-mansion, I don't want to buy a beer for a person who approaches me, asking for money. I want to help, but I want my help to actually help . . .

There are getting to be more and more people asking for money, just everywhere. I think this last time I went to Joplin was the first time someone didn't approach me in a parking lot, begging. I have a different way of handling that. I try to take a sack lunch with me when I go to town, for just such an occasion. I don't turn them away hungry and I also give them a copy of my latest book. I figure it could be a life changing read or if they don't choose to read it, it's going to end up somewhere accessible to the general public. Perhaps this sounds a bit calloused, but when someone approaches me for money, I feel food is the the issue, or should be so that's what I offer.

I do make it a point, like so many others, of supporting what I believe in. Every year, I try to give away a small beginning of a starter herd and flock, along with my book, "Simply Abundant." An unrelated buck and doe will have someone goat-herding in no time and three hens and a rooster will provide breakfast as well as an alarm clock, set for the crack of dawn. I'm not a charitable organization, so that makes it even easier to just give according to what YHWH lays on my heart.

For folks who want to support lavish ministries, that is their prerogative and for those who believe in organized charities, that's great too. Having witnessed some rather unseemly scruples in some of these "outfits," I'd rather not contribute, but rather than use the bad perspective to do nothing, I've simply headed off the beaten path to contribute to what I believe in. As I meet more people who are no longer seeking politics or religion for answers, there are more people helping in ways that are not done by agencies and organizations. Doing what I can actually do to help someone become independent or even better, become utterly dependent upon G-d, is helping according to my provision and the actual need, rather than the lifestyle of need. Giving what is needed and teaching to live within one's means, while not just throwing money at a problem to make me feel better, is what truly makes up the vision of The Other 1 Percent.