a lesson from my parents

Yes, we turn into our parents. A few Sundays ago, I preached a sermon about how we become like our parents, for better or worse. And yes, I have my share of cringe-inducing stories about what that has meant in my life. But I have one very good story: my parents taught me the importance of giving away money.

I come from a very working-class family. My dad was a boilermaker. My mom was a homemaker. And let’s just say that running water came into the house sometime between the birth of my sister and my own birth a few years later.

We were in church every Sunday, and my parents made certain that they gave our church ten percent of my dad’s paycheck. It came “off the top,” so to speak, before any other expenses. I grew up thinking it normal that people give away money to causes they value. It is a lesson that has lasted. I still make certain that at least ten percent of what I make ends up in the hands of charity.

There is nothing magic about that ten percent figure. There is biblical precedent for it, but the important aspect of giving is the fact that sharing is a priority, not simply from what may or may not be left over at the end of the week or month or year. 

I do not know how much anyone else might or might not be giving away. Each of us decides. The important part is that it becomes a conscious part of how we approach money and wealth. The accumulation of stuff, whether that “stuff” is money or handbags or cars, ends up enslaving us. Giving away is how we escape that enslavement.

I encourage you talk and share stories—in your household, with your friends—about money and how to escape from being enslaved by it or the debt caused by its misuse. Then decide to start giving away a significant portion to church and charities that change lives. You will start seeing a freedom you never knew. It will turn out to be a very good story that you can pass on to the next generation.

Bishop Larry Benfield