Motivation
By Jan Verhoeff
Charity begins at home. I believe this to be very true. As a member of a land where wealth
is measured in various ways, I can understand the gift of giving because I have received. On occasion, most of us have
been the recipient of charity in many ways, and that is a good thing. The opportunity is to understand what it means
as the receiver and the giver.
This page is dedicated to giving. If you have a charity that you particularly want to support,
send information about that charity, the website, and any addresses or information that might be needed to contact them and
I will consider posting it. Please include a personal statement as to why you believe we should give to this particular
group or charity.
Many years ago I met a man who worked for himself, hard long hours. He was hard working, and
he had a large family. I will never forget what he said, "I work to give to charity. I give to live."
At the time it didn't mean much to me, I was young and didn't ask many questions. Years later,
I met him again, and asked what he'd meant by that.
He said, "The bible says that God asks 10% of what we make. I figured as a young man, that
if God only ask 10%, I could live on that too. So, I gave 10% to God, kept 10%, and always gave 80% of what I made to
charity." He rubbed his chin and continued, "It was hard, those early years, living on 10% of what I earned, but as
I worked and lived, it became easier. When you knew me before, I was actually making enough money to live quite well,
if I hadn't been giving the 80%, and some folks thought I was crazy. But, at that time the 10% I was living on had been
more than 200% of what I made when I started working. My family was fed, we had plenty, and we gave 90%."
The man grew silent, for a moment. Then he added, "The Lord blessed my giving spirit and last
time I looked in my bank account, I still had more than 90% of what I kept in the bank, I'm not even using all of that to
live on. I still donate 10% to the Lord, every Sunday. I still donate 80% to charity every month, and at the end of
the year, I donate all that is left, after my living expenses to charity." He smiled motioning to his home, and all
that stood before us, which he owned. "I've found that I consistently give 80% of what I keep every year to charity, which
means that for most of the last thirty years, I've donated over 98% of my income, and still live very well."
The man lived well, his children lacked for nothing, and he still gave to charity on a regular basis.
His children continue to give.
I've thought about it a lot, over the many years since I've met him. Through the years there have
been times when I didn't know where the next meal was coming from, but if someone needed my help, I gave it. I've never
missed a meal. God always provides. There have been times when I've had to ask for help, or when I've had
needs that others have given to provide for, but somehow the money is always there. I believe the old adage that you
work to make a living, but you give to live.
