Giving...Some Good Stuff to Ponder

I am young. I was not around during the great depression. My parents were not around during the great depression. My grandparents were. I have also talked to a great number of people who survived the great depression. They are very interesting. They have a totally different mindset. They will save stuff that I would never think about saving. It is just fascinating to me to see how they been affected by the great depression.

Now the great depression was tough on a lot of people. Everything I read, everyone I talked to, all say that times were tough. I believe they were tough. I believe that things were difficult. I believe people had to do a lot "creative spending" to make ends meet.

Here is the interesting part to me: During the great depression people were giving 3% of their income to Christian/Charitable causes. Today, people are giving less then 2-3% of their income.
That is tough for me to swallow. I know gas prices are ridiculous. I know that maybe this is not the "strongest" economy right now. But I have to think that that hardships that we are facing today is nothing compared to the great depression.

My best guess, is like most things, it comes down to priorities. Rather then try and blast the society that we are living in, I encourage you to ask the same questions that I am asking to myself.

• Am I honoring God with my giving?
• Am I honoring God with my spending?
• Am I trusting God to meet all my needs?
• Am I remembering who owns all the resources in the world? (hint a 3 letter word, starts with G)
• Am I giving out of guilt, or am I giving out of my love for God?

Hard questions to honestly answer, I know that. But wrestle with those questions personally. To pin it on society as a whole is trying to get out of dealing with the issues. I know that because I have tried to do it :)