Giving Thanks….

In our congregations we talk a lot about faith practices….Faith practices for us come out of the promises that are made by parents, sponsors, and the congregation to God as we come to the baptismal font.

These practices are prayer, study, worship, invite, give, encourage, and serve. All of these things, through the grace of God, have helped me and many others, to grow in faith, have the courage to follow, and answer the call to serve.

They are all important and it is hard to choose just one to talk about…..but today I choose to talk about “Giving”.

There are three ways to give….though our time, through our talents, and through our treasures.

When we think about giving, we might first think in terms of our treasures-our money and things that we can donate, buy, and give. But we also give back through our talents and vocation. Using our job as a way to serve God. It changes how we view our daily work. That in all of our jobs we are serving God’s people. And sometimes we run into God’s people who are not very nice….but with God’s help, we love them anyway!

The third way to give is through the giving of our time. Spending time with others, be it our family, friends, or a total strangers. Time is a gift, you can spend it however you choose. But when you spend your time in service to others….it is a win for everyone.

We give back, because it is God who gave it to us in the first place…

There is a great video that you can find on You Tube called God’s Pies….It opens with a table full of people who are playing the part of the things that take our time, treasure, and talents. And then there is the guy that has this great looking pie named ‘ME”. Me starts cutting up the pie and passing it out…..Me cuts the first piece and gives it to the “house”. House got at least a quarter of the pie….and then he cuts two more pieces and gives it to “car 1 and car 2”. They dig into the pie right away…..And then he cuts a piece for “fashion”, a rather large piece for them as well as a rather large piece for “hobbies”….The pie is quickly dwindling……credit card asks for interest on their large piece of pie….“education” is sleeping but gets a few crumbs….and then the dude dishes up the last sliver of pie and sits in the place marked “ME”.  He then proceeds to start enjoying his slice of delicious pie…..When he notices that everyone is staring at him. And as he looks around, notices that he has sat down next to “God” and given God nothing…… the guy squirms in his chair, and tries to hide from God, but “ME” continues to eat, faster…..All the things that take up our time are starting at the guy in total shock….finally one of them points out, “Dude, he brought the pie” and points to God…..

God provides us with all that we have, all that we are, and all that we EVER will be. God asks us to give back…Tithing or giving 10% has been a practice since ancient times. It is a practice for me personally, that has been a source of joy in my life.

If we look around we might see all the negative stuff in the world….it is ugly and painful …but when we look again, we notice that God has been generous and gracious, especially this year. If we feel that we have been blessed with bumper crops and favorable weather. Friends and family, love and security. Then it is our obligation to pay it forward and help those who did not have such a great year. And so many do….Thanks for all that you do, all that you give, and all that you are….Thanks be to God!