Valuables and Values

When you think of Patrick Henry quotes you probably think of his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech on March 23, 1775. Patrick Henry delivered this discourse at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, and I have been in this church during a reenactment of that famous speech. It was a moving experience to sit in a pew where George Washington, Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson could have been seated during the conventions leading up to the Revolutionary War.

How I wish that more people could have heard this Patrick Henry quote:

“I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian Religion. If they had that and I had not given them one shilling they would have been rich; and if they had not that and I had given them all the world, they would be poor.”

In my consulting work I talk with people about how to find more joy in giving. Usually our first thoughts when we hear giving mentioned in any situation are about financial resources. When giving is mentioned from the pulpit or about a charity, it is about giving money or our valuables. We think about what we want to leave our children and usually our first thought is about valuables. It is distressing that there is little thought given to what values we want to leave our children and grandchildren. One of the values that I want to leave with my family is generosity.

Recently, my wife and I have met personally with each of our four children’s families. We gave each of them an envelope with a letter and a sealed smaller envelope with some cash inside. Here is the content of the letter:

Dear ---,

We believe that all that is upon the earth belongs to the Lord and that we are only stewards of His resources for a short while. We leave this earth holding in our hands all that we had in our hands when we were born. Understanding this will determine the way you live your life and how you use the resources that the Lord entrusts to you.

Through the years we have found that giving money away frees us from the power of money. Over the past 53 years we have worked hard. Sometimes we thought that we were not paid enough for the work that we performed, but the Lord provided just enough for us, and our family never missed getting what we needed.

One of the greatest joys in our lives has been to tithe to our church. Tithing is not for God’s benefit. God does not need our money, but the practice of tithing helps believers give a portion of their income back to God.

But generosity goes beyond tithing. Generosity is the quality of being unselfish, especially as it pertains to sharing money and other valuables with others.

We want you to use the money in the envelope to help someone who has a need. No guidelines--you determine how to give this money away or invest it in others in need.

During the Thanksgiving holidays we hope to see all of you at some time or another, and we will be asking you to report on what you have done with the money. Since we all will not be together for a while, we will be taking notes on what everyone does with their money and report back to the whole family.

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) says, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Now you understand why we did not want you to open the envelope first—you would have thought that the money in the envelope is a gift for you. Actually, the money IS a gift—we are giving you an opportunity to practice generosity.

With love from Nana/Mom and Papa/Dad

We can’t wait to see what each member of our family will do with their money. Hopefully, sharing this effort will inspire you to do something similar with your family to help them understand that values such as generosity are far more important than valuables.