I have been thinking a lot this week about what motivates people.  To often we use guilt to motivate people.  Don't get me wrong, guilt has a purpose in our lives.  Guilt helps us to see our wrongs and to turn to God for forgiveness.  If guilt motivates us to find God, then it has served its purpose.

But as a motivator to do good, guilt has it drawbacks.  We pass it off as teaching gratefulness some times, as in, "Young man you ought to be grateful for all your mother has done for you.  You ought to at least pick up your room for her."  The truth is, these are two entirely different issues.  One is being grateful to mom and the other is the need for a clean room, which even the most grateful 12-year-old might not see.

It all makes sense in our minds, but the connections are not so obviously there.  What happens instead is that the child starts feeling less grateful if he is told he ought to.

We do the same thing with giving in the church.  We see that people ought to be grateful for all that God has done and ought to give in measure of what they have been given.  When it doesn't appear that their giving is commensurate then, we get frustrated and start telling them how grateful they ought to be.  There is no easier way to kill thanksgiving than to tell people what they ought to be thankful for.

So perhaps it is time to separate the two.  Do what my seminary Professor  Tim Wengert told me every time I e-mailed from my first parish with a problem. " Preach the Gospel, Dana."  Or as it says on his business card that I carry in my wallet and should look at more often, "Preach the damn Gospel."

Lets just tell people how much they are loved by God.  Lets tell them what God has done for them, not because we are looking for a return on the investment, because God wasn't.  God does what God does out of pure love, asking nothing in return.

And perhaps it is an entirely separate question to ask people for what we need to run the church, to care for others, to feed the hungry. 

People who truly feel loved, who truly feel grateful may  respond out of genuine love, and not because we guilted then into thinking they ought to be grateful.

If we really believe that the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God then She will touch their hearts to be generous. 

And we will have to have strong programs and a good plan for using what we have been given if those who are so touched will find it in their hearts to give out of that generosity to our churches.

Lord,
 Touch our hearts with your love and open us to be truly giving people.
Amen