Your motivation to give is good
Mary and Joseph did not set up a gift registry for the baby Jesus. The magi were motivated on their own to bring gifts. Jesus understood why the woman brought a jar of nard for him. Congregations around the Mediterranean were glad to contribute money through Paul for the impoverished Christians back in Jerusalem. As with you, faithful people have always responded to the impulse to be generous, giving.
Some of the basic motivations are familiar.
Loyalty is a strong one. I love my congregation. I am part of it. I readily make and fulfill an annual pledge. The seminary that helped shape my ministry has become part of my own identity. I want to help it
carry on.
It may be more generational, but many people still give out of a sense of duty. Giving is what a person does: we go to Church, we pray, we work and give for the spread of the Realm of God. Part of being an alumna or alumnus means making a contribution when asked.
Clearly so many of us give out of thanks. We experience grace. We are blessed—twice blessed. It is right and good to give back, pay forward.
Those may be more familiar motivations. There may, in addition to those, be some more profound, more sublime motivations.
A clear sense of stewardship, in its fullest sense, is one of these. I am simply the warden, the guardian, of what ultimately has come from or through God as Christ. So when deciding what to do with what I have, I should discern and serve the interest of The Holy One.
Generous and considered giving can also be an expression of leadership. I can steer resources to places where The Father′s Will is being done on earth. I can support instances of the realm
breaking in.
Perhaps most sublime, charitable giving can be a discipline of creativity. In my own small way, I can participate in grace; “Things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (BCP 291)
Whatever your inclination, THANK YOU for contributing to Bexley Seabury.
Conrad Selnick
Vice President for Advancement and Church Relations