[Most Fridays we devote our blog posts to sharing resources, ideas or personal stories about generosity and/or stewardship. It is our desire that our readers be encouraged in their own stewardship journeys and encourage others along the way.]
If you’re like me you’re starting to gather all of your tax documents, including giving reports from the various charities you support. As I do my taxes each year, I find myself looking through my checkbook and sorting through various receipts looking for something I may have missed – what else might be tax-deductible?
Several years ago I was challenged to consider including in my giving “portfolio” some things that aren’t tax deductible. You know, things like buying a meal for someone you don’t know at a restaurant, paying for coffee for the person behind you at Starbucks, buying a meal for a homeless person, etc. In some ways, that was a revolutionary thought to me.
I was reminded of this idea just last week when I read a blog post about the possibility of tax-deductions for charitable contributions going away at some point in the future. Would I still give at the same level? Do I give because I want to be generous and because God has been generous to me or because I can write it off on my taxes? Really good questions.
I, for one, would like to be able to honestly answer that I would give anyway. As an exercise, I plan to give more this year to things that aren’t included as a valid non-profit for tax-deductible contributions. But more than that, I want to learn to respond to God’s prompting to be involved in His work wherever and with whomever it might be. After all, He is the one who provides and moves in our hearts to respond to the needs around us. I don’t want to miss that nudging and, possibly, the spiritual blessing that comes with responding to His leading.
How about you? Want to join me?
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 [NIV]
Renae Nanney
Keynote
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