"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:3-4, NIV)
I received this comment on one of the {Housewife Heart} posts:
I feel like it's a personal mission for each family. I commend you for drawing attention to the charities, but for us, the giving is very close to our heart and something that I do not tell others about when I do it. I hope you have found what is close to the heart as well.
I was going to respond in the comments, but then decided that maybe this is something that should be shared for all my readers.
I want to say that I understand the commenter's thoughts and that I knew that the way I went about the Housewife Heart project might not be for everyone. In fact, when I first came up with the idea, I stalled on it because of the perception. I worried about the perceived motivations and I worried about - frankly - the tackiness of such a project. Actually, I received less criticism than I geared myself up for.
So for those of you who maybe wanted to say something about the project and didn't, I want to offer a brief explanation for why I went forward with it. Outside of my clearly stated reasons for Housewife Heart - to educate my readers and myself on worthy charities - I came up with two arguments for why I took on Housewife Heart and why we shouldn't always stay silent on our charitable endeavors:
Giving Is Contagious. I believe that when a friend or someone you like shows you how they support something - monetarily or otherwise - it motivates those around them to also get involved. Sure, we all hope we have the moral fortitude to give faithfully in a charitable manner, but sometimes it falls by the wayside unless pressed. I don't mean in a peer pressure way, I mean in a logistical way.
For example, when there's a natural disaster somewhere across the country, don't we all sit and stare at the screen mesmerized in sadness? And don't we think - or say - "I just wish I could help." Since most people cannot leave their daily lives to physically help the affected area, the next best thing is to send money to an individual or organization that is on the ground helping. But then these thoughts run through your head:
Didn't that [major charity] get a bad reputation for some money mismanagement after the last natural disaster?
or
I applaud what that friendofafriendofafriend is doing there, but where would my money actually go?
Or even
How much should I send? How much do you think _____ actually sent? We really need a new dishwasher and sending a check in the mail is a stressful risk I can't handle right now.
Before long, all thoughts of actually helping have left our minds. Unless. Unless your neighbor or your church or your sister offers up an easy way to help. They've already done the research or they explained how they worked out the finances in their family. It gives you a place to start.
Giving Needs A Goal. Originally, I was going to keep the ending donation vague and hope that everyone just got into the spirit of the thing. But when I was discussing with my husband how much we would be willing to give to a charity chosen by my readers, I realized that all projects work best when there is a tangible end. In this case, the tangible end goal was a donation of a specific amount.
When goals are stated clearly, they are more likely to be attained. I encourage you to set a goal in your family centered around charitable giving. Whether it's a percentage of income or a certain number of hours per month, you're more likely to find a means if the end is specific.
I also love the idea of group giving. If a group of friends or neighbors sponsors a project together (perhaps alternating by month or delegating tasks), it keeps everyone accountable, which is sometimes all we need not to let the laziness win.
Our Housewife Heart donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is not the only charitable giving our family has done this year. We have a small handful of causes that we've been involved with for several years, and recently a few new opportunitues have presented themselves for future involvement. I have not highlighted any of these organizations - although I might eventually - nor am I in the business of discussing specific dollar figures on much of anything around here.
Money is such a tricky, tricky, subject. Discussing it is a social taboo and between friends it becomes complicated. I do hope that the {Housewife Heart} project came across as intended, and, far from feeling defensive, I want to welcome all types of discussion at HH.
photo by nathanmac87
