April 26, 2012
Grudgingly
I really don’t like fund raisers that ask you to make a pledge, because
it’s always in the back of my mind that some emergency might come up where I
couldn’t fulfill my obligation. I have to laugh at Paul’s method of collecting
on a pledge from the Corinthians. He expected them to honor the pledge…but how
the gift was labeled would be entirely up to the Corinthians. “So I thought it necessary to urge the
brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous
gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one
grudgingly given.” (2 Cor 9:5 NIV)
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----I even think of emergency when I give at the moment. It is like maybe the extra dollars in my pocket are not needed now, but as soon as I turn them loose something will cause my need for them. And it has happened just that way; it isn’t a fear thing. But I give anyway, because life is not a zero-sum game. Those in my pocket are not my last dollars. Life is dynamic. I perceive my money as part of a continuous flow consequential to my own actions and attitudes combined with God’s providence and my neighbors’ intelligence (if you don’t think your neighbors have anything to do with your ability to earn a living, then consider one small bit of their social interaction which put Barak Obama in the White House. And the rest of their effects are myriads of myriads, too.) So the risk of immediately needing what I either give now or pledge to give later is all the same to me.
-----What bothers me about pledging is that I don’t like borrowing. I would rather buy something with the cash I have now. When you borrow you commit tomorrow’s income to buying today’s delight. That way you can make today bigger than it really is at tomorrow‘s expense. Now, we all know this is a mere rule of thumb. Today may not be as big as it needs to be unless you have a vehicle for commuting and a place to rest afterward work. You can’t quite buy either with yesterday’s spare change. Debt is necessary. Circumstances determine the matter. And I feel in the same way that pledging future income to my generosity’s current inclination might be making today bigger than it really ought to be.
-----But I don’t mean there are no circumstances requiring pledges. The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were being cut out of economic life. Moreover, they were cutting themselves out, for some reason, maybe expecting the Lord’s immediate return, maybe simply being crazed senseless by the mutuality of the new life. Their incomeless situation became dire and chronic. So others’ giving also had to become dire and chronic. I really don’t think Paul was developing a system of pledging as much as he was simply organizing a massive effort around the sluggish motions of the first century world. Yet, these circumstances fit the case for a good pledge drive.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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