In the scheme of things the gift was a small amount — about $500 — but it was more than this donor had ever been known to give. So it was noteworthy. The gift was in support of a new effort to help at-risk students outside of the USA. The donor, who I had known for years, said he’d give me a check the next time we saw each other.
Which he did a month or two later when we had lunch. I said thank you, of course, and then asked what had prompted him to be generous toward this …
Healthy leadership is an act of generosity. And wise generosity is an act of leadership.
Let’s run a thought experiment. Let’s say you don’t consider generosity as one of your core gifts. Oh sure, you give where you can, and you aren’t stingy. But you are not seen by yourself or others as particularly generous.
Continuing with that thought experiment, let’s say you often find yourself (by design or accident) leading people. At work, home, church, school, or a junkyard. Wherever it might be, you are one of those people that tends to end up leading.
Well, to wrap up …
This year starts with a favorite theme of mine: generosity. We tend to think of generosity as a financial gift. But it is so much more.
Here’s a question: where does your professional or relational credibility originate? What is it you do, or think, or say, or own, or believe, or who do you know, or where do you live, that gives you credibility in the eyes of your family, friends, coworkers, employees, or employer?
Let me be clear — credibility comes from our character. But professionally, even relationally, we are known for certain things. It might be skills, knowledge, …
Here’s an obvious statement: a junkyard is filled with a lot of junk. The good junk is sold, and most of the rest is recycled. But some things have less than zero value because disposing of some items is an expensive endeavor.
The lesson learned from the junkyard is that giving it away is easier than throwing it away. It’s junkyard philanthropy.
For instance, old used tires are basically worthless. You can’t sell them, obviously. And they cost a lot of money to dispose of. They are hard to recycle, last forever in a landfill, and burning them releases toxic …
The story of the Widow’s Offering, found in Mark 12 and Luke 21, never made it into my book Junkyard Wisdom. It’s an amazing story, but I couldn’t find the right spot in the book so it was cut.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the story: Jesus was watching people put money in the temple treasury and noted how the rich gave large sums; then the widow gave two coins, all she had.
Jesus says to the disciples, “…all these people gave out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty.” The Message has it as, “All the …
It’s tempting to blast celebrities (or political candidates, though there isn’t much difference) for their public philanthropy.
Like the big name Hollywood actor who earned millions for doing a commercial, then let his publicist promote the story about him donating $10,000 to a local homeless shelter. I remember cynically thinking at the time, “Wow, so generous, you gave almost .1% of the income you earned doing a one day photo shoot.”
But the truth is we all do it. Maybe we don’t have a publicist (I don’t, but if you want to volunteer give me a call). Maybe we give …
I wrote this short article for the PathLight newsletter that goes out tomorrow, but I wanted to post it because it’s a message I believe in. The message is simple: giving wisely to those less fortunate has a transformational impact on all involved. It certainly can change the life of a student in Belize, but it also can change the life of a donor. Giving is a spiritual exercise, so the more you do it with a heart for seeking the grace and peace of God, the more transformational the exercise of giving can become. It seemed an appropriate message …