1) giving as obligation: “whoever has two shirts should give to him who has none” “sell your possessions and give to the poor.” “imagine a child drowning in a shallow pond”
and 2) giving because its exciting ”God loves a cheerful giver” ″It costs just $4,000 to save a life”
It sounds like you’ve leaned more into the joy, and that’s wonderful!
The more I think about it, the less paradoxical it seems. I don’t think those two are in conflict so much. I think we absolutely are compelled to give, but compelled from “Its the right and best thing to do” perspective, not from a “Do it even if you hate-it-kicking-and-screaming” perspective.
I think giving springing on a personal/heart level from gratitiude, but the underlying principle being that hey, this is the right/correct thing to do might actually combine without much paradox. I think if you give because you begrudgingly feel obliged you might be better off not doing it and checking yo heart first?
They don’t have to be in conflict. But people feel like they are. Why else don’t people give more? Most people just aren’t as excited about giving as they are about spending that money on other things in life.
Ideally giving springs from heart to hands. And the best way to motivate someone else is probably to point to the heart, and the excitement, not the obligation (unless it’s an opening hook—the e.g. drowning child experiment is just really strong).
Thanks for the shoutout to EACH, Nick!
I find myself bobbling between
1) giving as obligation:
“whoever has two shirts should give to him who has none”
“sell your possessions and give to the poor.”
“imagine a child drowning in a shallow pond”
and 2) giving because its exciting
”God loves a cheerful giver”
″It costs just $4,000 to save a life”
It sounds like you’ve leaned more into the joy, and that’s wonderful!
The more I think about it, the less paradoxical it seems. I don’t think those two are in conflict so much. I think we absolutely are compelled to give, but compelled from “Its the right and best thing to do” perspective, not from a “Do it even if you hate-it-kicking-and-screaming” perspective.
I think giving springing on a personal/heart level from gratitiude, but the underlying principle being that hey, this is the right/correct thing to do might actually combine without much paradox. I think if you give because you begrudgingly feel obliged you might be better off not doing it and checking yo heart first?
They don’t have to be in conflict. But people feel like they are. Why else don’t people give more? Most people just aren’t as excited about giving as they are about spending that money on other things in life.
Ideally giving springs from heart to hands. And the best way to motivate someone else is probably to point to the heart, and the excitement, not the obligation (unless it’s an opening hook—the e.g. drowning child experiment is just really strong).