First, those who give spontaneously and generously, but only to
themselves--auto-givers they might be called.
Second, those who give thoughtlessly, without any real or high
motive--givers of the occasion, as it were.
Third, those who give as a sop to conscience and self-esteem; in
a species of atonement for the evil they do--penitential givers.
Fourth, those who give as a matter of display, to win public
applause for their generosity--theatrical givers.
Fifth, those who give because others give, because they are
expected to give, and are ashamed not to give, and therefore
give grudgingly--conventional givers.
Sixth, those who give because they feel they ought to give; who
give through a sense of duty and not through love--moral givers.
Seventh, those who give in the spirit of Jesus; who give because
they love their neighbor as themselves, and above all things
desire to help him--spiritual givers.
To which do you belong?
There are lots of men who will sing with gusto in a missionary
meeting:
“Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small,”
but when the collection-plate is put under their nose and they
are asked to put their sentiments into cold, hard cash, they
drop a five-cent piece upon it with a sigh of regret, which
suggests these other well-known lines,
“When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain.”
--E. L. MEADOWS, Pittsburg _Christian Advocate_.
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