For obvious reason, I’m asking myself this question right now. Should you give money to those in need if you owe money to others?
I happened to catch some of Dave Ramsey’s radio show from yesterday, and he addressed this very issue in response to an email from a listener who wanted to donate a chunk of their emergency fund to help the rescue efforts in Haiti.
“Don’t leave your family in jeopardy by letting your emotions override wisdom…. Most giving would be done with surplus, and that would be above an emergency fund.”
I’m not sure I agree with this — at least not for one-time giving, such as for the people in Haiti. But I do understand where he is coming from. I believe it’s a practical, spiritual matter that needs to be determined based on your own specific situation.
You need to ask yourself, where will you get the money from? If you are already playing the credit card game just to keep the lights on and put food on the table, obviously the last thing you should do is use that credit card to make a charitable donation. No matter how guilty you might feel for “not doing your part”, we are called to make taking care of those in our own household a priority.
What if you’re like us, working feverishly to be responsible with your money and to pay off your debt? And you’re making progress, but in the meantime, you don’t have an emergency fund to speak of? If I understand Dave Ramsey correctly, he would say that you should continue to focus on your debt and to “live like no one else, so that later (my emphasis) you can give like no one else.”
He also said most giving. In my opinion, he was hedging so as not to be misunderstood that it is always more important to pay your creditors rather than give to a neighbor in desperate need. I think the important thing to ask yourself is, Are you putting your own family in jeopardy? Are you taking away resources from your own home that may weaken the foundation of your own household?
Of course, charity can be given in so many ways: with our time; with a kind word; with our hearts in prayer. I daresay, some may need to ask themselves whether they are making their own household a priority on the first two as well.
So the question remains, do you give to others in need if it means you pay off less debt? Do you do this on a regular basis? Do you sacrifice in other ways — say, not eating out on your regular night — so you can make a one-time charitable contribution for a need such as Haiti’s? I am interested in what you all do, those of you who have debt. Or just share your opinion, either way.
I think it’s a question everyone needs to answer for themselves. But I guess for me it seems like, if I’m going to treat myself occasionally to a little something during this debt-free journey of ours, how can I not give a little something as well when the need arises?
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
This is weighing on my heart too and I have another obstacle in that my husband and I are not on the same page about giving. So I’m praying about the idea of starting to give (sell) plasma for the money so that I can use that money to donate.
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jolyn Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 9:14 am
It is very important for a husband and wife to be on the same page when it comes to giving – anything financially related, obviously. Sometimes it just takes one person more time to make that decision, and in the meantime it’s difficult for the other spouse to be patient. God bless you in making your decision.
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Our tithe (whether we think we can afford it or not) all goes into a special savings account. We give out of that as God directs.
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To make priority of the giving back, we put tithing and missionary support on the lines under the “income” in our monthly budget sheets. Before reading Dave Ramsey’s book, I would try to do this in the beginning of every month but after reading his book and getting on board with the snowball program (we are only on our third month), we have switched the giving to be done at the end of the previous month. We are trying to live next month with the current month’s income. When situation occurs where we would love to donate but could not, for whatever reason, we would pray for the situation or the people who were involved in the situation. Also, we know our church will be helping with major disasters such as Haiti’s earthquake. Since we tithe so in a way we are helping through our church. Of course, we should always check our hearts first and not our wallets when a true need is present. Like Kelleigh said, God is our provider – in both spiritual and financial. We need not be too weary or be too anxious about everything as He always takes care of those who love and trust in Him.
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That’s exactly what I wanted to say.
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Great post! I have been wondering the same thing. I suppose there was never a question about whether I should give, but how much. God has been blessing us lately, however we still have a lot of debt to pay off. Do I give a tiny amount, or do I give generously? My heart screams to give generously, and so I have and I will. My head is telling me “But wait! You need to pay down your student loans!” I think that in this instance, I’m going to have to listen to my heart, and trust that God will provide once again. It is amazing to me how many times I have gone out in faith and given when we thought we didn’t have anything left to give, and then out of the blue we receive a payment in the mail or a bill comes in much lower than we though it would. About a year ago, we started to tithe by automatic payment from our bank. We thought we didn’t have the money to tithe, so we only did it sporadically. But then, we made the decision, and took the writing of the check out of our hands. The crazy thing is … we don’t even miss the money. I think that these special circumstances are calling upon our hearts to give, even if it hurts, and trust that God will take care of us and our needs, too!
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I agree with you 100%. Many of us look at our “poor little” situations and don’t feel that we have enough to give. But in reality we have more than enough. No, we may not be able to send massive amounts of money to Haiti or a charity, but the is power in small numbers too. I’m sure we have $10 laying around somewhere. It’s not a lot, but it’s a start and the small amounts add up to large amounts!
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jolyn Reply:
January 16th, 2010 at 11:57 am
Exactly.
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