Guest blogger - Satrina Massey

Making Donations

by Satrina Massey

“Would you like to donate to St. Francis Food Bank?” She kept her eyes down and shook her head “no” silently.

It’s Christmastime and that means it’s the season of generosity. Or something like that. At work, we’ve started taking monetary donations for the food bank/day shelter down the road, St. Francis House. In addition to providing food for the poor and homeless, they have facilities where people can shower, get back on their feet, or just get some relief from the brutal Boston cold. Truthfully, I didn’t know they existed until we started taking donations for them at work.

The customers come in with their knee-length fur coats and designer handbags, buying hundreds of dollars’ worth of groceries, but for most of them, they’d rather not spend an insignificant dollar on a donation to the hungry and poor.

Some of the more common responses:“Not today.”

“No, I’m all set.”

“No, but thank you for asking! That’s a wonderful thing!”

Or, as someone said to my neighboring cashier, “Not a chance.”

Not a chance? How could a person say such a thing? How could a person be so devoid of compassion or understanding that they would not only refuse a donation of even one dollar, but moreover say something so cruel with such hate?

The first hour of my shift was soul-wrenching. And then I started to become numb, even accepting of their refusal to give of their plenty. That quickly! But then Jesus brought me back to reality, because (although there were some people who were far more generous than I could have anticipated!) with each denial I saw more of Jesus and more of myself.

I walk by homeless people on the sidewalk every day that I go to work. I have good intentions of bringing them coffee one day or blankets or food, to ease their situation. But I never “get around to it.” I’m afraid for my safety, being a young woman in a large city. Or I doubt the truth of their depravity, as so many of us do. We’re told to be skeptical, to avoid being scammed. So we keep our eyes down, we keep walking. We shake our heads “no” when cashiers ask us if we’d like to make a donation to the local food bank.

“How much is this bag? Well, you know what, I’ll take it, no matter what it costs! (Laughs)” “Ok, that’ll be ___. Would you like to make a donation to St. Francis food bank?” (Smile fades, murmurs “no.”

“Would you like to make a donation to St. Francis food bank?” “No thanks, I do that at home.”

“Would you like to make a donation to St. Francis food bank?” “No thanks, we’ve already done enough of that!” (Lighthearted laugh)

It breaks my heart with every rejection as I hear myself in the “no”s and see Jesus in the face of the food bank.

He asks, “Would you like to donate your morning?” (No, I need that for sleep more than prayer.)

“Would you like to donate your speech?”

(No thanks, I like sounding funny with my colorful vocabulary.)

“Would you like to donate your control?”

(No thanks, I’ve got this.)

“Would you like to donate your heart?”

(No, I’m being a well-rounded individual, with all my different interests and obligations and hobbies.)

He said that there will be many who say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” And they will be given eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matthew 25:44-46)

That’s up there on the top five list of scariest Bible verses.

But although we should take care of one another on this earth, we shouldn’t be motivated by fear of eternal damnation. (Don’t get me started on that.) We should give from a heart of joyful generosity. We should give, knowing that we have been blessed so much, knowing that nothing we own is permanent, and that all we own is in fact on loan from the Father. God is the only one who is genuinely ok with us re-gifting!

As painful as it is to watch person after person refuse to give a dollar out of their abundant wealth, it will be more painful if I do not learn something from it. Jesus came to earth to die for all sinners, including the rich misers, and including hypocritical me. He looked his accusers in the face with love. What an example for us. So, let’s do show the marvelous love of Christ in our giving, and forgiving, this Christmas. And may we live every day, not just December, with generous spirits and caring hearts.