While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are about buying gifts for self and family, Giving Tuesday shifts the focus to giving to total strangers. World Vision shared five reasons why it is a great time to think about others.
Reason #1: Double your joy. Lots of organizations, World Vision included, have donation matches on Giving Tuesday, so your gift goes even further. Knowing that your money can support extra people with no extra effort is a great feeling. The point isn’t to make ourselves feel good but to remember that “… life does not consist in the abundance of [one’s] possessions,” as Jesus tells us.. It’s a tangible reminder that our money is God’s and that he can do more than we imagine with what we have.
Reason #2: Check off Christmas shopping. It’s as inevitable as “It’s a Wonderful Life” reruns all December: You make your Christmas list, jotting down gift ideas for your sister, your roommate, your kids. Then you get to that one person who’s tough to shop for. You know who it is. Whether it’s through a donation or a handcrafted item to treasure, your gift empowers kids around the world to create lasting change.
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Reason #3: Get sustainable. A sustainable lifestyle is becoming fairly common. For Christians, though, caring about all kinds of sustainability isn’t just ethical, it’s also spiritual. Part of our Genesis 1:28 mandate, set up by God from the beginning, is a responsibility to care for the earth and its products, and, of course, people who make those products. As Christians, we want to make sure the way we spend our money upholds the dignity of all people. How better to do this than to equip them with the tools to break out of extreme poverty?
Reason #4: Spread gratitude. Giving Tuesday is all about keeping those good Thanksgiving vibes going, recognizing how much we have to be grateful for and sharing it with others. An easy way to do that? With automatic donation services that give a portion of your shopping to charity. Large retailers such as Amazon offer this option.
Reason #5: Join something bigger. Community members’ ownership of their development leads to lasting. It’s work that’s possible with partnerships from generous donors and child sponsors. These donors have received the rare gift of seeing an entire community go from extreme poverty to health and hope in their lifetime. Who wouldn’t want to keep that gift going?
-Dwight Widaman
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