The Giver

There is a guy whose passion is to give financially to support ministry. Every single year, this guy makes around $100,000 selling the crops that his land produces. From that money, he tithes $10,000, but also goes way beyond that by giving another $40,000 to orphanages, homeless shelters, and missionaries. He figures that he can live comfortably on $50,000 and that the money he gives away is better used than if he kept the excess to purchase things he really doesn’t need. Thus, every year he blesses a lot of different people through the donations he makes.

Well, one year rolls around where the economy has been down and donations to non-profits have declined across the board. This guy sees an opportunity to help because his crops still produced $80,000 in income. So he gives his 10% tithe, as usual, but then gives $52,000 to the orphanages, homeless shelters, and missionaries he always supports. He knows he is only left with $20,000, but thinks to himself, “I can sacrifice to make sure these things are supported.”

The next year, the farmer can’t put out as much seed, hire as much help, or lease as much equipment to farm his land because of his drop in income. His land still produces well and he profits $60,000. He tithes 10%, as is his custom, but then wonders how much to give this year to his usual benefactors. “Well, I gotta keep giving them at least as much as I did last year b/c they are counting on that money now,” he thinks to himself. So, he again donates $52,000 to orphanages, homeless shelters, and missionaries. He is happy with himself and feels like he is really helping people out given the still-sad shape of the economy.

When the next year starts, he has to take out loans—which is weird for this particular farmer because he never likes to be in debt to anyone—to buy seed, hire help, and lease equipment. After his crop comes in, and he pays back his debt, he still profits $40,000. He tithes 10%, and then wonders how much to give in donations. He knows that kids are still hungry, people are still homeless, and the Gospel still definitely needs to be spread to the nations. To make matters more complicated, the economy has continued to sink. Now he personally knows people who are losing their homes; he sees kids in his very community that don’t get to eat 3 nutritious meals a day; he sees missionaries coming home because all of their support is drying up. This man, with his huge heart, is distraught.

“Wait a minute,” he thinks to himself, “I’ve still got $36,000 in profit this year. On top of that, I own all this land that I haven’t even been farming the past two years! I’m just gonna sell some of it so I can help these people out.”

So the man sells half of his land and puts that money with the $36,000 he had after tithing and gives it all away. In this down year, he gave his biggest offering ever! Six figures! He loved that he could help some people out in their time of need.

Well, the next year rolls around and the farmer takes out loans again to buy seed, hire help, and lease equipment. He doesn’t take as big of a loan though because he only has half the land he had before. The good news is that his crops produce well again and he profits $20,000 after paying his debts; the bad news is that economy continues to plunge. Some of the man’s neighbors are forced from their homes because they can’t keep up with their mortgage payments; local children are now on street corners begging for bread; church plants in foreign countries are shutting down due to lack of funding.

This man’s heart is breaking. He wants to help. After tithing $2,000 to his church, the remaining $18,000 he made has already been spent on living expenses—he has no excess to give away this year.

“I can’t stand watching all of these people suffer. My friends and neighbors are losing the homes they’ve built their lives in. I see children unable to eat. And worst of all, the Word of God can’t be spread effectively because nobody has money to give.”

As he keeps going over the dire situation in his mind, he becomes more and more grieved. He loses sleep at night, skips meals during the day so he can take his food to hungry children in the city, and gives any spare cash he has to his friends so they can try to make their mortgage for one more month. All the while, he grows weaker.

After a few months of this, he finally comes to a decision. “If I sell the rest of my land, I could clothe and feed an entire orphanage for a few months, help my friends keep their homes, and even send some missionaries back overseas. I’ve gotta do it. I’ve gotta do all I can to help.”

So, the man puts the rest of his farm up for auction and watches as strangers bid on the land he worked profitably for years. He takes the money from the sale straight to his neighbors, the orphanages, homeless shelters, and missionaries. They are overwhelmed by his generosity and thank him for his kind heart. With all of the strength he has left, he smiles and then turns to go home, very well satisfied knowing that all of those people have been helped.

The next morning, the man can hardly get out of bed. He hits the snooze button more times than he can count, but finally manages to drag himself to the kitchen. Whereas he would usually make some coffee, he remembered that he had given the last of it away to his neighbors. “That’s alright,” he thinks to himself, “they needed it more than me.”

With no coffee, his mind turns to a hot shower. When he turns the knob in the shower, only cold water comes out. “Oh yeah, I forgot I had the hot water heater taken out so that I could give that money to the hungry kids. That’s alright though; they need it more than me.”

After a cold shower to wake up, he gets himself ready for a day of work. He makes it all the way out the door and into his truck when he looks up and sees other people in the fields around his house. And that is when it hits him: the land is not his anymore. The farm he poured his sweat and life into, that profited $100,000 annually, and enabled him to give away $50,000 year in and year out, had been sold to strangers. With reality setting in and tears in his eyes, the man asks himself, "How can I produce anything now?"

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This man, with his huge heart, and with the best of intentions, ran until he was empty. In his zeal, he neglected himself to the point that he became useless to those around him. Although he was long looked at as a man of means, with excess to give, he was now counted among those he once strove to help.

When you are running with a vision, it is imperative that every once in a while you take time to hydrate. How can you expect to finish a marathon when you’ve been sprinting the whole time?! If you don’t slow down periodically and take a moment to breathe, to get some fluids, you are probably gonna pass out with three miles to go.

You have GOT to make sure that you nourish yourself when you are aiming to feed and lead others. The blind cannot lead the blind. The sick cannot save the sick. The poor cannot save the poor. The weak cannot save the weak. You have to have something to give. And you can only consistently have something to give when you are pulling from a place of excess, of more than enough.

For those of you like me, this can be hard to swallow. You never like to slow down, always like to be pushing and planning and thinking and orchestrating. But we’ve got to remember to keep ourselves filled up; we are of no use to anyone if we run out of gas.

* * * * *

Finally, I want to leave you with one last thought. This is an adaptation of a Word given straight from God to my pastor this morning: If you are in an airplane and there is a drop in altitude, when the oxygen masks come out, whose mask are you instructed to put on first? You or your child?