Avoiding Generosity Burnout!
A commentary by Peter Hawkins
Pastor of United Church of God congregations in Bricket Wood and Tonbridge,
England
Many charitable organizations are facing financial strain. Not one would
say it has enough funding. Charities try to stem the tide of an increasing
staffing cost while maintaining focus on their primary cause. They reach
out to the public for assistance—but the public seems to be tired
of doing good, or skeptical of how the money is used. A generosity burnout
perhaps?
On a journey from Edinburgh, Scotland to London I was reading an advertisement
by a charity offering a chance to "save the world." It was
a chance to sponsor the reclamation of an acre of ground in the rain
forests of South America for the equivalent of a few dollars per month.
This is only one of many charities concerned about our misuse of our
habitation.
Too little, too late, we are realizing that planet Earth's survival
systems—interdependent and beautifully designed—are being
damaged and depleted by man's activities. Television ads request us to
commit a few dollars or pounds per month to protect our children from
abuse, rehabilitate them from drug use, provide funding for orphanages,
give shelter to homeless people, fund winter heating for the elderly,
take care of abandoned pets and so on. The list is growing by the year
and represents a desire by many to help out where possible.
Many people providing a small monthly gift can indeed accomplish a lot.
But are we fixing the problem or only bandaging the wounds? As long as
we do not handle the cause of our social and environmental challenges,
their scope and nature only becomes more and more complex.
The loss of many mature people in the first and second world wars depleted
nations of some of their most experienced and educated talent. Survivors
tried to return to normal life after experiencing unimaginable horrors.
Many lost faith in a supreme God who would allow such wars to take place,
so faith and biblical standards were not passed to the next generation
as before. This lack of respect may have contributed heavily to the '60s
generation challenge to their parents and society in general. The '60s
teens are today's grandparents—so now we have been separated from
the source of biblical solutions for several generations!
You've probably heard the fictional tale about a Dutch boy who held
his finger in a hole where a dike wall had begun leaking. He held it
there until help came and Holland was saved from flooding. The story
has a lesson for us: If we take personal responsibility where we see
problems, someone may come along to fix the system before disaster strikes.
Many charities have tried to do this, but there are so many leaks and
not enough help to save our world.
So many have confused what we have done to ourselves throughout history—exercising
freedom of choice—with a lack of interest or acknowledgement of
God. But He is going to intervene! Jesus Christ described a time at "the
end of the age" when "unless those days are shortened" no
human beings would survive (Matthew 24:3, 21-22).
Would you support an organization that can provide certain hope for
the future by defining the cause of man's problems and outlining the
solution? That hope is not based on our limited human ability, but on
the Divine Being that so many have lost contact with. We have a responsibility
to encourage people with that good news.
In a future age soon to come, God will deal with the root cause of marital
problems, child abuse, battered spouses, drug and alcohol abuse and the
destruction of our habitat. Human nature will be understood for what
it is—a mixture of good (as seen by much voluntary and charity
work) and evil (as seen by our materialism, misuse of resources and rejection
of God's revelation to us). It will be countered by and voluntarily exchanged
for a spirit of concern, peace and patience toward each other, among
other qualities.
You can start enjoying that life now, by your own choice. Read our free
magazine, The Good
News, and request or download our free booklet Transforming
Your Life: The Process of Conversion. Why not help support us if
you would like a part in the work of spreading the good news? |
