From The Viewpoint of a Teenager

Call to Giving

Northwest Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Arlington, Texas • October 16, 2011

Lydia Pape, age 13

 

My mom asked me to do the Call to Giving today. She said I should tell our church family why I give money to the church, and also say how I decide how much to give.     

One reason I give to the church is that I’ve been doing it almost my whole life. When my parents first started giving me an allowance, they made me put some of it in the offering plate at church every week. For a while, they had to make me do this. I didn’t know that I should do this, and I would often forget to bring my money, so it was my parents’ job to help me learn. When I got older, about eight years old, I started doing it by myself. So it’s sort of become a habit over the years.

I also give because it doesn’t really hurt me much. For one thing, as I get older, my allowance increases, so the money I receive builds up faster. Also, I don’t spend it that often. I save up money for a long time so I can spend it on things that will be important in my life, like the new computer on which I typed these words. After saving up several hundred dollars, which took over two years, I was able to pay for over half of my new computer. My parents gave me the rest of the computer for my birthday. Because I don’t buy things very often, I’m never tempted to NOT give money to the church. There’s a little trick I do in my mind: I subtract what I’m going to give away and just think of what’s left over as my full allowance.

In case you’re wondering, I get thirteen quarters each week for my allowance, a quarter for each year I’ve lived. A tithe would be one tenth of that, but I’m not in the mood for math, so I just think: “One quarter is less than one tenth so I better give more than that. Two quarters is more than one tenth, but what are you gonna do?” So I give two quarters each week. It’s that simple.

I like the ministries of this church because I think we do the things God wants us to do with our money, which is really God’s money. That’s why I give consistently and generously, and I hope you will, too.

Dear God, we are giving back something that is already yours, so please accept it, even though it’s not everything that belongs to you. Thank you for being so consistent and generous with us. We love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.