He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,?and he will repay him for his deed. -Proverbs 19:17 (RSV)
Be happy with what you have and are, be generous with both, and you won?t have? to hunt for happiness. ? William E. Gladstone
A benefit of having your financial house in order is that you do not have debt. Your income is your greatest wealth building tool. As you start to build some wealth, you will be in a position to give more freely. Giving is not only a gift to others but it is a gift to yourself as well. The happiness and sense of satisfaction that giving brings makes you look for ways to give more. God gave his only son to us. He wants to shape us in his image and God is a giver.
Giving can be done locally in your community and congregation. It can also be done nationally or globally. Our family has sponsored three children over the years through the Compassion International organization. All of them have lived in South America. We are able to correspond regularly with them through letters and photos. One of our children ?graduated? from the program, while the two others are coming closer each year. A recent independent study showed that sponsored children had more schooling, became leaders in their communities and had a higher chance of breaking out of poverty.
Sponsoring these children has brought the world closer to us. We have helped them and they have taught us the value of giving. Another way that we have been able to give internationally is by hosting high school exchange students. We have had 7 students live with us from 5 different countries. We have maintained communication with most of them over the years. While exchange student are partially supported by their families, we are responsible for meals and housing. Our food and utility bills go up during theses times and we usually travel?more with the students as well. If we were not out of debt,?this might be a financial burden. Happily, we are able to give of our time and resources so that these kids can have?an unforgettable experience in our country.
For many years, as our children were growing up, we would travel with our church to Tijuana, Mexico on mission trips. Like most church groups, we would have building projects and food distribution projects to keep us busy during the week. Again, we were able to give our time and our resources to help these people improve their living situations. We formed relationships with many of them and today we even Facebook with a few of the now grown children that we helped. At the same time we experienced the culture and traditions of the Mexican people, which we will remember all of our lives.
Eliminating debt from your life reduces your stress, but not only that, it enables you to help those that are less fortunate and it makes you?happy that you are able to continue helping people and causes as God points you into the future.
Tim and Kathryn Gerken are financial coaches in Newcastle, WA. They serve their community in the Greater Seattle area with coaching, classes, writing and speaking.
?
?
Source: http://www.gerkenfinancialcoaching.com/2013/04/the-gift-of-giving/
winning mega million numbers bruce weber boston globe mirror mirror google maps 8 bit texas relays meniscus
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন