COLLEGE PARK, MD –
It’s nice to be back in the swing of things after our recent Fundraising Dinner. I’d like to extend my gratitude to all of you, our supporters, for showing such an outpour of generosity just a few short weeks ago.
As I contemplated on that outpour of giving, for which we heartily thank Almighty God, I began wrestling with a thought: there is a point in our giving where we can begin to feel a bit of entitlement creep in.
We can start thinking that we’ve done enough to be able to reasonably expect this or that from the beneficiaries of our giving.
Usually, this is the point where others let us down and, as a result, we stop giving.
That is a tired cycle we need to break out of. If our giving is conditional, it’s not really giving. Not until we leave our self interest behind can we give in earnest.
Running into this common obstacle of entitlement based on our conditional giving in and of itself is not an indictment.
It’s a well traveled checkpoint on the path to success.
The key is what we do when we run into this obstacle. Most will stop giving and be turned back at the (gut)checkpoint.
The only ones that will be allowed through to carry on further down the path are those that, in the midst of feeling unappreciated or slighted, shed their entitlement and keep giving.
What’s waiting further down the road is reciprocation of our giving far beyond what we are entitled to or can ever expect.
Reciprocally,
Tarif