Insights on Philanthropy
by Fred Smith

All of my ‘AHA’ moments in my life have come from reading, silence or listening to others. Except one. . .and that was yesterday. I was having lunch with a friend and we were talking about the Parable of the Pounds and how we were using our gifts and our giving to the best use. “What are you doing that is going to let you hear ‘well done’ from God?” he asked. Normally, I would have a list of things to illustrate my productivity and desire to hear God’s approval when the time comes. Instead, what I heard myself say was absolutely foreign. My internal editor must have stepped away for coffee. “I’ve already received my well done.” I told him. “When I accepted the grace and work of Christ I also received His ‘Well Done’ from the Father. I cannot do anything more. All I can do now is work out of gratitude – not out of trying to please God any further.” 

He stared at me. If I could have done it, I would have stared at me! I’ve made talks on the motivating principles of the parable. I’ve written articles on it. I’ve even formed one foundation based on the parable and our desire to hear God say ‘well done’ in the end. I’ve never before realized so profoundly the only response that is appropriate for grace is ‘thank you’ and then to work and live out of sheer gratitude. I’m reminded of Dallas Willard’s wonderful quote: “Grace is not opposed to effort; it’s opposed to earning.” 

How many of us have been looking at the use of our gifts from the perspective of needing to prove our productivity to God? How much of our giving has been motivated not by simple gratitude but by the desire to do something more to earn the pleasure of God? It can’t be done. For that I’m grateful. I have my well done.

I love the martial arts choreography in movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I asked a black belt friend how he hardened his hands for real (not staged) competition. It seemed simple enough. Set up a five-gallon bucket of white rice and punch your hands in it 10-12 times in a row, five times a day. When that no longer hurts, use a five-gallon bucket of dry beans for several weeks, and then graduate to five gallons of sand. 

While it takes time to become hardened, it is a simple process. My martial arts friend cautioned me, “Be careful. The process is irreversible once the calluses are there….and you could really hurt someone with them.” 

Similarly, I’ve discovered a way to build calluses on the heart – especially this time of year. Plunge your hands five times a day into websites, television and email coming from nonprofits and ministries. When the numbing is sufficient, start on your direct mail stack and personal letters. When all the feeling is gone, move up to repeated plunging into personal visits, phone calls and notes from friends. For the final hardening, dwell on all the disappointments, misused gifts, unrealistic expectations and relentless pictures of children and women. By then, you should have to register your heart as a lethal weapon and warn people before meeting them. 

Is that really what God wants? I believe what He desires instead is for us to resist becoming hardhearted. What I have discovered and heard from others is this: resistance builds heart muscle, not calluses. Constant outside pressure builds calluses. Patient practice of giving skills builds strength, but constant exposure to irritation builds calluses. Muscles are alive and growing. Calluses are dead and hard. There is no way to avoid the predictable barrage of incoming requests for help – especially in this economy and season. Focus on the few things that matter most to you, and refuse to let your heart, mind and soul become hardened. The process is irreversible for hands…but not for hearts.