From What We Have

I've talked about this concept many times on this blog over the past four years, but last night I experienced its purest form. We often make giving overcomplicated. We factor in all our bills, obligations, and other financial commitments, then assess whether there's enough remaining to give. Since we are human and our brains are wired a certain way, there's rarely anything left to give, regardless of our income. Thus, we elect not to give.

Put through its proper lens, giving should be much simpler. "What do I have to give?" we should ask ourselves. After all, we are called to give from what we have, not from what we don't have. If I have something, I should give it. If I don't, I shouldn't. This means financial resources, of course, but it should also include skills, experience, passion, relationships, influence, etc.

If I have the skills and experience to help businesses, some of that skill and experience should be given freely to serve others. If I have a relationship that would be valuable to someone else's endeavors, I should give that freely to help others.

In our Palmful of Coffee curriculum, we again go back Biblical to giving in its simplest form. We give from what we have, not from what we don't have. This concept can and will set us free. It allows us to practice generosity regardless of our current life situation. It allows us to stop comparing ourselves to others and simply give, knowing that all blessings matter.

Last night, it came full circle. As I sat in the front row of church in a Colombian village, I watched giving, in its simplest form, play out in real time. Men, fresh out of the fields in the nearby mountains, carried a large sack of green coffee beans to the front of the church and placed it at the base of the podium. Then another man. Then another man. Soon, the base of the podium was lined with some of the world's best coffee. These men might not have had a lot of financial resources, but they had coffee, beautiful coffee.

While we call this program Palmful of Coffee, it's not strictly about coffee. It's about giving from what you have, not from what you don't. Most church members had coffee, but some had milk, yogurt, corn, lemons, eggs, papaya, etc. That's what they brought. They didn't look in the mirror and say, "I don't have coffee, so I guess I can't participate." No, they looked in their storehouses and saw freshly picked papaya, then elected to give from what they had.

We make this too complicated. ALL of us have something to give. And if we would stop comparing ourselves to everyone else, we would recognize the beautiful opportunity we each have to simply give from what we have. Last night was one of the most special nights of my life, and I will surely remember it forever. But this lesson of Palmful of Coffee, give from what we have, can remain with each one of us every day for the rest of our lives as well.

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