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Paying my Self-less. My self less. Self less. Selfless. The idea behind Paying my Selfless isn’t about paying yourself first. It isn’t about paying yourself less. It’s about the idea that we are a part of something bigger - a small part, but a part nonetheless. Sometimes to get the correct perspective on this larger world view we have to make ourselves smaller, less. Whether or not you are a person of faith, this still applies. There is more to this life than you. The idea of Paying my Self-less is answering the question “What Good are you doing with your money?” There is such need and so few who are doing something about it. What are you doing about it? And I’m not talking about filling every pan handler’s cup or every offering plate. What good are you doing? I am obviously talking about giving your money away. This is an act, but it should be more of an act than signing a check. I’ll go into more of this later. As a Christian, my motivation for giving is guided by how God views money. There is more talk about money in the Bible than anything else. This has less to do with God’s need for money (he has no need for it) and more to do with our love for it (greed). You’ve heard it before, but money has the ability to do the greatest good and the greatest evil. You’ve also heard that “money is the root of all evil”. You probebly also know this is a misquotation. What the Bible actually says is “the love of money is the root of all evil” - 1 Timothy 6:10. While still taken slightly out of context (this passage is talking about church leaders) it still is applicable to anyone who has responsibilities. We have responsibilities for our personal and our family’s well being. And sometimes that takes center stage and we forget about everyone else. The Message translation of this passage says “lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble.” I have this conversation all the time. There are plenty of objectives to giving away our money. Most of them stem around two issues. One is because we have all been burned when we have given our money away. We all have stories that sound similar. We gave to a ministry or politician that ended up corrupt. We gave money to a homeless man who spent it on alcohol. We all have given away money and thought we could have put it to better use ourselves. So we stop. We don’t give. And our worldview shrinks. The other issue is that many of us seldom have enough money to even pay our bills, let alone give any of it away. What about the heat or food? Our stack of bills is so tall we can hardly see over it. Both of these issues are very valid, but are more like excuses to feed our greed. And both are overcomable. There are a few guidelines to “Paying my Self-less” The first step to giving is to see it as an action. You should be involved. There are some decissions, evaluations, and movement to be made: To whom do you give?

1- You should be involved and know where your money is going. If you give to a church (as the Bible says you should) ask, what good are they doing with the money? Of course, a portion is paying the lights and the heat and the salaries, but look at a couple other things. Are people being brought into a closer relationship with God? Are people being helped outside the walls of the building? If you don’t know where the money is going and the information isn’t easily accessable, why choose that church? Also, if you don’t see lives being changed inside and outside the church, again, why do you choose that church? I am very comfortable when I give to my church. They are very clear about where the money is going. Also, they are arranged where many of the internal bills are paid for by tenants in the facilities the church owns. There are lives being changed inside the church, in the community, around the country and around the world.

2 - If you don’t give to a church, investigate other groups to give to. AIDS relief in Africa. Red Cross. Habitat for Humanity. Find a cause that strikes a chord in you. Investigate it to make sure the are reputable and honest. www.charitynavigator.org is a good way to do this investigating.

3 - If you would rather be even more hands on with your giving, that is great. Check out these ideas: random acts of kindness or pay it forward. There are lots of ways to do it.

Get everyone in the family involved. Giving is a big decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. You should not make this decision without your spouse. Also, this is an important value for our children to learn. They will learn it by being involved. The second is not to worry. I don’t know how to explain it, but one important part of giving is not to worry. Giving has a huge potential for joy. But worrying about the money gone seems to demminish the joy of knowing your helping others. Also, as most tithing Christians know, there is no need to worry. God always seems to make sure you never miss your money. It’s as if He knows that for many of us Paying My Selfless almost feels like a risk to give, so God blesses us for taking a risk, so we begin to see giving as a blessing. If you are interested, here are a few (of over 800) pieces of scripture about money and giving.

1 Timothy 6:6-7, 17-19 — “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. … Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Luke 12:15-17a, 19b-21, 33 — “Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’ And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, … ”[I] have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.“ But God said to him, ”You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.“ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God. … Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. …’ ”

Malachi 3:8-10 — “ ‘Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ”How do we rob you?“ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’ ”

Acts 20:35b — “[T]he Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Proverbs 19:17 — “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

James 1:27 — “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

I know this is a controversial topic, and I want to hear what you have to say. So, let’s discuss in the comments.