Browsing Tag

generosity

Spiritual Generosity

Asking people for money is asking them to practice a spiritual gift. So why does it make us so uncomfortable?

Those of us in the faith community often hear the request, “I would appreciate your prayer right now.”

It’s an easy ask, isn’t it? The person being asked will always agree. Sometimes they invest time and heart into the process. Other times they say a simple prayer in their head, and check it off their to-do list. Either way, the request is usually met.

But raising the stakes becomes problematic. “I would really appreciate you making dinner tonight for my …

Generosity,

What is Your Currency?

This year starts with a favorite theme of mine: generosity. We tend to think of generosity as a financial gift. But it is so much more.

Here’s a question: where does your professional or relational credibility originate? What is it you do, or think, or say, or own, or believe, or who do you know, or where do you live, that gives you credibility in the eyes of your family, friends, coworkers, employees, or employer?

Let me be clear — credibility comes from our character. But professionally, even relationally, we are known for certain things. It might be skills, knowledge, …

Junkyard Wisdom Book, Philanthropy,

The Soul of Money

This post was something I wrote years ago for my friend Mark Scandrette when he was exploring what the soul of money might be (long before a book of the same name by a different author was released). I’d somehow lost this article and was surprised to come across it again! It struck me as important because it foreshadows so many of the themes of this blog, my writing, and my Junkyard Wisdom Belize trips. It’s not exactly what I would write today but it still touches the core of my heart and passions. So it felt right to post …

Philanthropy,

Generous Relationships

A lot of people overlook a simple way to be generous: go through your rolodex.

A couple years ago I wrote about being generous without money. The Coronavirus pandemic had me thinking about that post, perhaps because I’ve seen so many selfless acts of generosity recently. So I’ve slightly updated the post to reflect our current world. Here goes:

Since writing Junkyard Wisdom I’m often asked a simple question about generosity: how can we be generous without a lot of money?

Plenty of people think generosity is about giving money away to worthy causes. It’s about sponsoring a child, supporting …

Junkyard Wisdom Book, Leadership, Philanthropy,

Celebrity Philanthropy

Years ago I wrote about celebrity philanthropy. It’s a topic that makes me roll my eyes (sorry Renee). It’s especially over the top as this virus sadly creates high profile opportunities to be … well, to just be a good person. Please understand — I’m all for celebrities supporting good causes. But celebrities often can’t resist making a big deal out of their philanthropy. They get their publicist involved, have the media cover the story, and generally put themselves in the story as the hero.

Anyway, I wrote about it years ago and thought I’d look at the topic again. …

Junkyard Management, Random Thoughts, Wine Reviews,

Generosity Without Money

Since writing Junkyard Wisdom I’m often asked a simple question about generosity: how can we be generous without a lot of money?

Plenty of people think generosity is mostly about giving money away to worthy causes. It’s about sponsoring a child, supporting a youth sports league, contributing to the arts, etc.

Other people think generosity is about giving your time. Volunteering at a homeless shelter or tutoring a struggling student, for instance.

Both definitions are legitimate — we need people who give generous of their time and treasure.

But a lot of people overlook valuable assets in their generosity toolbox: …

Junkyard Management, Junkyard Wisdom Book,

Why Aren’t the Rich More Generous?

Recently read that the wealthiest Americans — those in the top 20% of income earners — give an average of 1.3% of their income to charity. By contrast, those in the lowest 20% of income earners give 3.2% of their income to charity.

How does that make any sense? Well it doesn’t, actually, but there are two theories attempting to explain it. And I’ll add a third minor theory.

The first theory is that the rich are just greedy and don’t want to give up their money. Paul Piff, a psychologist at UC Berkeley, told New York magazine, “…the …

Junkyard Wisdom Book,

Junkyard Wisdom: Belize

My friend Ken Wytsma read Junkyard Wisdom and texted, “Let’s do an event in Belize where we host 20 people for a multi-day retreat and talk about the issues in the book.”

I was struck by the idea. So many conversations around stewardship, wealth, and poverty tend to be held at fancy hotels. But there’s something odd about spending $500 a night for a hotel room so you can talk about how to serve our neighbor. Hosting an event in the rainforest, near villages where people live on just a few hundred dollars a year, seemed like an excellent counterbalance.…