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What is your first impulse when you see someone in need? Before the rationalizations kick in. Before even you worry about who else is watching or even whether the person you think needs help may take it the wrong way. |
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The Impulse To Give -- or To Ignore
I am by nature a pretty
impulsive person. When I see something in the store I want to buy
it. It has led to some purchases that I look at later and wonder
what I possibly needed that for.
So I have been working
over the years on sorting the difference between want and need.
That is not even easy in a culture that convinces you that you need
so many things. I also find myself just holding back and giving it
some time, and then the thing doesn't seem so desirable.
I also have good
impulses. When I see someone carrying something heavy, I want to
help. When I see someone in need I want to give them what they
need.
I am noticing however that
I have gotten too good at curbing that impulse. I don't consciously
remember trying to do that. So I have been trying to figure out how
it happened.
Watch yourself and pay
attention. What is your first impulse when you see someone in
need? Before the rationalizations kick in. Before even you worry
about who else is watching or even whether the person you think
needs help may take it the wrong way. What is your very first
impulse when you see someone in need?
As I started thinking
about it, those were the things that I realized stop me from my
first impulse. And so I have made a resolution. I will work as
hard at bringing back my impulsive nature when it comes to helping
and giving as I am working at curbing my impulses when it comes to
wanting and buying.
It seems to make sense to
put the two together, as the less I think I need, the more I
will have to give.
Lord,
Make me more like you, the giver of all things. Amen
The Rev. Dana Reardon (Mspastor@aol.com) is pastor at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Warwick, RI. A lifelong Lutheran, she came to ordained ministry after 21 years in nursing, mostly in pediatric intensive care. She graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1998 and served 4 ½ years in Upstate New York before becoming a New Englander. She is still trying to understand the accent. While in the Upstate New York Synod she chaired the Stewardship Team. That began her fascination with what makes stewards -- and more, what makes for generosity. She has three amazing daughters: Pastor Izzo says much of what she knows of life she learned from them.
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