Consecrated

The choir sang an anthem today called Consecrated. "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee."

As they sang, I thought about the word consecrated.

1. For something to be consecrated by God, there must first be a willing giver. "Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold." That kind of offering requires someone who is willing to give away that which is precious without regret.
2. It also requires a willing recipient. Who would want to give a gift to someone who was not willing to receive it. God is a willing recipient. I believe he meets what we give to him with a joyful, divine response.
3. Consecration also involves transformation. The song anticipates not just that God will receive what we offer, but that he will make it holy. Our offering of it does not make it holy; God's reception of the gift consecrates it -- makes it holy.
4. Giving and receiving also allow for transformation of the giver. We are changed and transformed as we offer our gifts to God.


"Take my heart, it is thine own...."

Transfer of Values

I'm in New Orleans at a planned giving conference. The first symposium I attended was concerning the transfer of values and valuables. Its purpose was to help estate planners understand the necessity of leading those who are planning the disposition of their estate to understand the necessity of passing on what they value (not monetary values, but principles) so that their children can then handle their valuables wisely. It's called The Heritage Process, and it involves guiding people through the idea of teaching their children values prior to giving them money.

Do we think about concepts like that? Do we consider that we leave behind our values as well as our values? Do we lead our children into situations where they must work together to manage money, as a team? Do we lead give them money to use for charitable purposes so that they can learn the value of charitable giving?

And as a person who does what I do for a living, is there a way to lead church members into the realization that giving to charity can be a bigger gift for their children than giving them all of our assets? That the gift of our values is more "valuable" to them than all of our stock portfolio? Can I tell that to people without it seeming self-serving? Can I communicate the necessity of transferring values to our children by giving some of our money away and make the communication of that idea ministry?

Hmm.

Image: The view out my hotel window tonight.