Monday, December 10, 2012

December 10, 2012 - Giving 110%


This week left me with thoughts concerning effort – how much one gives…

Often we hear athletes/coaches say they want to give/see 110%. It seems to be an impossible goal since one cannot give more than he has…

Coach John Wooden said it this way, “You can only give what you have and you only have 100%. No one is an overachiever. We are all underachievers to a different extent. I prefer to judge individuals on how close they come to 100%, knowing that no one can ever achieve perfection…”

Although I fully understand what Coach Wooden was saying and have the utmost respect for him, I think this time he is being a bit too literal. The fact is as an athlete one almost always feels he is giving his best, yet there seems to be a hidden gear that is brought out when the motivation changes – something the athlete didn’t even know was there…

I saw this a couple weeks ago while watching a college practice. One of the athletes was really struggling physically. The team was running lines and had a set time limit allotted to finish the course. This young man wasn’t coming close. He was cramping, spitting up in the trash can, and judging by the grimace on his face giving all he had at the moment. Then something changed. His teammates came along beside him and encouraged him; they ran with him and lo and behold the kid found another gear…

(I think that extra 10% that was found could be summed up in one word – SACRIFICE – giving beyond the norm…)

The argument would be that he simply wasn’t giving it all initially. Again I don’t want to get into the literal argument – but figuratively there is a thing called motivation that gives us an extra gear!

The past couple weeks we have begun a series at church dealing with giving “outside the box” for CHRISTmas. Basically the pastor has been reminding us that the central component to thanksgiving or gratitude is GRACE. He has pointed out the motivational verse in 2 Corinthians 9:15 that says, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

God’s gift of GRACE should motivate us to give of ourselves beyond what we thought possible – 110%...

The idea of giving “outside of the box” this CHRISTmas has challenged us to give gifts that go beyond the consumer mentality that normally controls us. Instead of seeking what we can get this CHRISTmas we should seek what we could/should give. This challenge is not only a financial challenge but also a challenge this week to give of ourselves in service to others.

You may be thinking, “Yeah, I know Coach, but I don’t have any more time or finances to give. I am busy. I am broke. I have already budgeted my time/finances to the max…”

I think you have an extra gear! I think God’s grace is enough motivation to get you to give 110%! I know it is possible… the pastor pointed out just such a thing that is found in the Scriptures…

2 Corinthians 8:1-5
My friends, we want you to know that the churches in Macedonia have shown others how kind God is. Although they were going through hard times and were very poor, they were glad to give generously. They gave as much as they could afford and even more, simply because they wanted to. They even asked and begged us to let them have the joy of giving their money for God’s people. And they did more than we had hoped. They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, just as God wanted them to do. (CEV)

This CHRISTmas is a great time to show your gratitude to God by giving to others…

My daughter Christa just raised over $450 to buy a fish pond, fishing kit, goat, and 9 chickens as gifts through World Vision. Others in our church have followed suit by giving similar type gifts. I can think of many very worthy ministries that are helping people. I’m sure you can think of people that are in need… Let’s step it up!

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