Buzzwords: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (ooh!)

Now that I've got your attention let me tell you about my friend Jesus. Nah, just kidding. Well... kind of.

The Ice Bucket Challenge swept the nation this year and to a lesser extent is still going strong. The phenomenon brought out opinions on all sides. It was amazing to watch friends from all walks of life either raise their ALS flag or burn it. The passion was there and it was strong. For the longest time all I could think of was "what's the big deal?"

It was only a matter of time before I got challenged and in mid August it finally happened.

In the words of my friend Chris: "Oh my goooodness Jim!!! That was so much talking!!! But here it is if you want to see it: Jim's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

   

There are plenty of arguments for support and against the Ice Bucket Challenge and it's tough not to dive into them here... but that's not the purpose of this post. There was one argument that scratched my nerve a bit and when you dig down deeply I think it actually connects all the pros and cons together. That argument was this:

Matthew 6:5-6

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you." 

I saw a lot of people posting articles featuring this scripture verse. I also saw two main claims being attached to this verse:

The first was "What and who I give to is my business...back off." The other was "Stop showing off... you all look like idiots for dumping water on your head."

In fact, both are valid points. The first is true, who we give to is our business and there isn't any need to flaunt our "charity." But we have to remember this, firstly that the whole challenge is to spread awareness, so in itself it's not flaunting anything, but secondly, these people could be giving to other needs as well but are simply following the confines of the challenge. It's none of our business... so we should cut them some slack. As for the second claim, well, have you seen some of the videos? Ice Bucket Fails are a trend in itself now.


I think the ice bucket challenge took off in popularity because people realized that other people were doing a good thing here. The giving that is... when you get down to it, pull away all the political crap, the dos and don'ts of this organization or that... it comes down to the giving. And giving is a good thing.

Giving helps others. Giving can also make us feel good about ourselves. But the point of giving isn't either of these. This is where I think the two sides collide in a muddled grey area. This grey area is tithing.

It's grey because it's such a "touchy" subject. Tithing involves money and if the ice bucket challenge has showed us anything people are sensitive about their money. But what is tithing exactly? The archdiocese of St. Louis explained it this way:

Tithing is the practice, established by God in the Old Testament, of returning 10% of your blessings to God. Originally the tithe was given to the temple or the Church in the form of produce or livestock, since this really was the only income that the people had. As our society shifted from a barter-based system of trade to a monetary exchange system, the tithe began to be paid in currency. Whether one gave monetary income or profit from the fields was really not as important as it was for the believer to understand that the tithe was what was owed to God. The tithe was not given based on the needs of the priests, of the Church or of the poor. It was given simply in recognition and gratitude for the blessings that God had bestowed on the individual. Thus, every believer had a need to tithe to God.

For their complete explanation check out their site.

TEN PERCENT!? Well, obviously they mean "do what you can." Right? No. I don't think so at least. Can you imagine if we all gave 10% (or more! shock awe) of our income to those in most need? Who are the most needy? The poor? Sure, but I bet you can make a case for that family who's dad or son, or daughter, or grandmother, or whomever has just been diagnosed with ALS (or insert disease).

Ten percent isn't easy. I know. You look at that number (and it's different for all of us) and you look at the bills and you think: ouch. How are we going to pull this off? It requires trust. And that is why it makes the world a better place. Suddenly we're putting our trust in God and saying "Okay, here's my 10 percent. I trust that not only will the water be on next month, but I'll actually get to sit down and watch that Sox game tonight." The key, the trust, is in the giving. Give first- not last. When it's bill time here the first checks that are written are the tithe checks. Water bill comes next. In the end maybe we can't watch that Sox game we wanted to, but miraculously the water bill gets paid, and hey- there's enough for some ice cream. God will never be out done in generosity.

This reminds me of a first hand experience of the power of tithing. Now I've got to stress I'm not a believer in the "Prosperity Gospel." I think it's a scam. Not simply a scam to get people's money- but rather a scam on people's souls. God loves poor people. I promise.

But I do believe God won't be out done in generosity.

When I was about 24 years old I was still forming (still am today-don't worry) my relationship with God. Saying I was in a time of transition would be an understatement. I had just quit my job as a teacher and began working as a Catholic missionary on college campuses. It was my first summer of training and it was here that I really learned what tithing was all about. As a missionary I was asked to fund raise my own salary. It wasn't easy and to be honest I was probably living well below the poverty line. Despite this I was called to tithe. So in that first summer I began to tithe for the first time in my life. 10%- hell the odds.

It was the summer after the Red Sox had just won their first World Series since 1918 and I was living in Madison, Wisconsin. The Sox happen to be traveling to Chicago to face the Cubs in Wrigley for the first time since that 1918 World Series.

I couldn't miss this.

So I found another missionary to come with me, we borrowed a third person's car, and traveled over 3 hours without tickets to go to the game. We jumped on a shuttle after parking the car and headed toward the stadium. The plan was to scalp some tickets somewhere nearby- but honestly, we didn't have a plan. As we sat there I overheard a guy behind us trying to sell two tickets to the couple next to us. They weren't interested. The tickets were way too much but I consulted my friend and got the go ahead to negotiate. We ended up getting the tickets for $75 a piece. Not bad! (for a poor broke missionary).

Game time arrived and it turned out that we were sitting right next to the guy who sold us the tickets. Awkward? Turns out not really. We talked the whole game and of course what I did for a living came up. I remember little about the game other than Mark Belhourn (the bum) flew out to deep center to end the game. We lost.

But I remember clearly what happened next. In fundraising we were taught to be bold. So I turned to the guy as we rode the shuttle back to the cars and asked if he'd be interested in learning more about FOCUS and possibly supporting me financially. He said yes! He asked if I'd mind coming with him to his car to give me his buisiness card. At this point it starts down pouring outside. The bus stops and I sprint behind the guy to his car... which turns out to be parked right behind us. Weird.

We exchange info and say our parting words and go our seperate ways. I remember clearly leaving the parking lot behind him because... well we turned the wrong way and got lost. But as we made our way back in the pouring rain we see a car approaching us with headlights flashing. I pull over and the car makes a quick u-turn. It's the guy from the game. What happens next is very Hollywood- and I swear I'm not making it up.

We both get out of the car and walk toward each other. He holds out his hand for me to shake it. In it is $150. He says, "I spoke with my wife and we both feel that I was meant to meet you. I don't know why and I don't know what else we'll be able to do. But we want you to have this." It was a boost of encouragement in a tough first summer of training to say the least.

Moral of the story? God will NEVER be outdone in generosity.

Can you imagine if we all gave 10%? I won't say there'd be no need for causes like the Ice Bucket Challenge. But it'd be vastly different. Instead of... "hey you should consider giving"... it'd be "hey, since you're already giving consider allocating some of that tithe this way."

Too often we fall into the trap of "God's blessings." We're doing okay for ourselves and we want to help those who need it so we'll throw a few bucks here or there. Sometimes those few bucks are a lot of bucks. But when it comes down to it after you've given are you stretched? We're not called to give from our surplus. We're called to give from our needs. Why? So that we recognize that nothing we have is ours and in fact that we are totally dependent on God.

Not a fan of God? Think that's bull? That's fine. Consider this... CAN YOU IMAGINE IF WE ALL GAVE 10% (or more- shock awe) OF OUR INCOME TO THOSE IN NEED? And they not only actually depended on it but we actually followed through on it! Think of the triumph of the human spirit!

Now, if we're simply going to rely on the power of the human spirit- as strong as it is- I'll be the first to admit we're going to fail. We need a Higher calling to rise to a challenge like this. But this post isn't a case for God...completely. It's a case FOR tithing. It'll make the world a better place.

I think if people were more in the habit of giving then the Ice Bucket Challenge wouldn't have been such a big deal. Yeah, there is the issue of the ALS Association using human embryonic stem cells in their research. But that's easily fixed. Don't give to them. Or make sure you flag your donation to go toward other research methods. But the fact is there are other institutions researching a cure for ALS or to support ALS families that don't use embryonic stem cells. Here are two.


In the end I didn't see the Ice Bucket Challenge as simply a rallying behind the ALS cause. That was it on the surface for sure... but rather, I feel it was more of a rallying to generosity. But not simply any kind of generosity. A heroic generosity.

In life we are constantly called to rise above ourselves to meet our goals. Athletes are perfect examples of this. Well, why not with our finances? Rise above what we think we can handle and see what God can actually handle.

Need a few suggestions on where to give? Don't worry, I won't make you dump a bucket of ice on your head if you choose to give somewhere else....

1. Check out the two links above for ALS research.
2. Give about half your tithe to your Church- even if it doesn't look it... they need it.
3. There are great communities out there serving people everyday. Choose one. Here's a couple of our favorites: Servants of Christ Jesus & Daughters of Mary of Nazareth
6. Unbound sponsors children in third world countries.
4. FOCUS is a great organization serving our youth on college campus'.
5. None of these float your boat? I think there may be a few others out there ;) (I know I'm an...).

Thanks for taking the time to read. For your generosity of your time I'll reward you with some cute pictures of my kids! ;)

Thanks again for reading and God bless,

Jim