Recently, I took a summer course on the intersection of finance and stewardship. I did all the readings and decided to share some things I learned there.
The first book assigned was Jeff Manion’s Satisfied: Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption.
In a nutshell, the lesson I learned can be summarized in a few words… Christians ought to emphasize the necessity for all to give – not just the affluent since giving itself constitutes a spiritual practice that can shape our spirit.
In light of Jeff Manion’s book, especially Chapter 13 titled “The Power of Sharing,” I believe the practice of giving is not something for affluent people only. It is also an opportunity to shape my heart as a PhD student and not depend on my strength.
One of my goals for this year is to continue practicing church giving despite temporal financial circumstances. I did Project no. 2 (see p. 136) regarding the impact of annual giving on my finances. After calculating my donations at my church and a couple of non-profit organizations I support, I discovered I was giving a lower percentage than in past years. Honestly, I wasn’t happy about the discovery.
The practice of giving has indeed contributed to my formation to be more careful about the way I use money, especially of things I do not need. For instance, selecting a particular date during a month to give had worked for me. On that day, my church and the non-profits usually took a specific donation from my account. I gained a couple of insights during this process considering that most of my income supports my doctoral studies, such as buying books, planning personal projects, and so on.
Perhaps the surprising news was that my donation percentage was lower. But my total income had increased compared to previous years. This is an interesting thing I must reflect on.