DESIGNATED GIFTS! DO 2447 7/88--What To Do With Them!
1. That's really sweet & unselfish sharing for one Home to give of their abundance to another.--But I've had a little experience over the years with donors, & when they give you funds, designated funds for a special purpose, when they come to visit you, they want to see where you put it.--And they don't take kindly to your giving it away to somebody else, or using it on something else that they didn't tell you to use it on!
2. When you ask for it for a certain purpose, they expect you to use it for that purpose! In all conscientiousness for the Lord & them, you need to be able to write back to such donors in particular & tell them what you used the money for.
3. (Maria: But the other Home was in desperate need.) I know, but they're going to have to get desperate & look to the Lord for it & not expect it to come from gifts that have been specially designated to someone else.
4. Now that's a basic principle of givers & receivers: That you virtually hold the gifts sacred, to be used as the donor specifies. No matter how much of a need you have otherwise, when a donor gives something for a certain specific purpose, he expects to see it used for that purpose, & you have a holy duty of honesty to him to use it for that purpose! When he gives it to you he doesn't expect it to be spread out all over the country!
5. There is just something about it, no matter what they say, those donors want to know. Even if they say, "I don't want to know what happened with it," they really appreciate it when you give them solid concrete proof & even pictures of where you put the money & what you did with it.
6. And when you do that, & they see that you can really be trusted with the money, it's just like the way God gives money: When He sees that you use it the way He intended for you to use it & that He can trust you with it, then He'll give you more.--When they see that they can really trust you to do what they say to do with it, or that you use it for the purpose for which they gave it.
7. I am very very sensitive on that subject because handling money is a trust, to make sure you do with it what God wants you to do with it & what the donors give it for & expect you to do with it. And then giving them some kind of proof or evidence that you used it for that purpose is very important, particularly heavy donors. It encourages further giving.
8. Let me tell you, big givers always want to know where their money went, & if they find out that you are diligent & conscientious & trustworthy with their gifts, just like the Lord was with the guys with the talents (Mat.25:14-30), they will follow it up with more when they see that you really used it for something worthwhile, or what they gave it for. But there's nothing they dislike like your taking something they give you & not using it for the purpose for which they gave it!
9. Designated gifts are sacrosanct! Now that is one principle I learned back in the churches & in the Christian Missionary Alliance, with their missionary giving. They were diligent in giving the money specifically to whom it was sent & exactly for what it was sent for!--And not just saying, "Oh, well, we sent some of it on to so-&-so, someone or somewhere that needed it." Givers don't like that!
10. For example, when W.S. takes money in, designated gifts, we are very conscientious about that, & when they send it in to a certain missionary, we send it to that missionary. We don't just put it in the pot & say, "Well, that's fine, we're using it for the Lord's Work, blah, blah." The givers were touched by that particular missionary's work, they're touched by their letter, they want to help that missionary.--And I feel the same way about that! And they do not want to just throw it somewhere else to which they did not give it! It is not right! As far as I'm concerned, to do that is just as bad as stealing!
11. Now I've been through this, in many temptations, all the way through my life & my work! There have been many times when somebody gave something for something, & I needed it much more for something else, but I never found that I ever lost by being honest & not stealing it but giving it to what they gave it for. (Maria: Well, if you had a greater need in a certain area, couldn't you have asked them if you could please use it for that? Most people would like you to use it for what you need it for the most.)
12. It's a very very touchy subject to ask a donor, "Can we use it for something else?"--Instead of what they were originally inspired to give it for. Of course, you've got to really know the person, you've got to know the situation & you've got to really pray. It's a very sensitive, touchy subject with donors, that you give the money or use the money for that for which they gave it.
13. I'm even sensitive about it!--And if I am sensitive about it, what do you think those other donors are? (Maria: But what happens if somebody gives you money for some specific thing, & the next day you find out that someone else has donated that item to you?) If you then inform the donor, "Well, we just had this donated, may we use the money for so-&-so?", then all right.
14. But that is just a standard set principle about givers & giving & designated gifts: Designated gifts in any work that I have ever been in have been considered absolutely sacrosanct, absolutely untouchable for anything else, no matter how bad you need it for something else! You use it for the purpose for which it was given, that is what they gave it for, that's what they wanted to give it for, that's why they were inspired to give it, & you cannot just haphazardly say, "Well, I'm going to use it for something else that we need more!"--At least not without asking the giver!
15. Designated gifts are a holy responsibility to be given to whom & for what they were given! And if you want or need them for something else, then you must not give them to something else without asking the permission of the donor. That is a standard principle of all religious work, of churches, of missionary organisations, of everything I've ever worked with at all.
16. Because the minute donors begin to find out they cannot trust you to use their gifts for what they gave them for, or to whom they gave them, you're going to lose their confidence & lose their giving because you're stealing! You're stealing! They give it for one thing & you use it for something else, & it's not right! I don't believe we have ever taken money given specifically designated for something or somebody else & said, "No, we need that for WS."
17. (Maria: So our Homes can't share with other Homes that are in much greater need than they are?)--Not what has been specifically designated by a donor! If they say, "This is for you & only you", then the only thing you can do is give the tithe.--Unless they just give it to you generally & say, "Put it wherever it is most needed, do whatever you want to with it", if it's given generally, without any specification whatsoever. But if it's given specifically, designated for a certain person, party, project or whatever, they hope & expect to see it used for that purpose or expect to get a thank you letter from that person, that missionary who received it.--Or they'll never trust you again!
18. That is a standard basic principle of giving.--And the Family needs to learn this principle! They do not have a right to just do with it as they please if it has been specifically designated to a certain party for a certain purpose. (Fam: Let's say parents send their daughter in the Family $300 to "buy clothes for our grandchildren." If the kids only need $50 worth to supply their outstanding needs, is the daughter legitimately able to turn the $250 balance over to the Home's common pot?--As long as she first accepts the money & writes a thank you, even though it wasn't all spent on the children's clothes.)--Yes.
19. Now, if it was generally given & it was not specified exactly what it was for, & the asker was not specific what he asked for the money for, that's OK. (Maria: In other words, perhaps we should pray that we don't have to ask specifically for things, & we should try to just make our appeals & requests more general?) No, the trouble with that is, that's what really gets people to give, when they know you have a specific need & you ask specifically for that.--"We really need so-&-so, can you help?" That really gets under their skin & really inspires them to give, to know that you need that one specific thing & that they are giving to supply that need.
20. But when you don't use it for that purpose, you are a liar & a thief! That's what it amounts to! You are a liar & a thief! You lied to them, you didn't use it for that purpose & you stole it & used it for something else.--That's how serious it is!
21. (Maria: Then how can they get undesignated funds so they can give special gifts to WS, & so they can give to their poor sister Homes that need help, with whom they want to share? How do they go about doing that?) Just pray for the Lord to supply some undesignated gifts.
22. But it is a serious thing that you use donated money for that which you asked it for, or for that which they asked you to use it!--What you specified it for, or what the donor specified it for. It's just not right to deceive them & to lie to them & then use it for something else! Now, if you happen by your ingenuity to manage to buy that specific thing a lot cheaper, but you get it & you have some left over, I'm sure the donor wouldn't mind whether that leftover money is used for something else or not. He just wants to know that you used it for what you asked it for.--And that you didn't lie & didn't steal it for something else!
23. That's how serious it is & what it amounts to! I have laid down that principle time & again, & made sure that our bookkeepers were very diligent about passing on the gifts that they receive that are designated for certain missionaries to those missionaries. This goes way back for years, & I have said then that that missionary must be sure to write a thank you note or letter to that giver to let them know that they got it! How long ago have I said that? From the earliest days with Jethro!
24. Jethro was a great one for wanting to take that money, "Well, they don't need it as much as we do, Dad, let's take this money!" I said, "Jethro!--That's stealing! That's lying! I want that missionary for whom that money was given to get every single penny of it!" We have never touched designated gifts! We send them on 100%, & we have bragged that we send 100% to the field or to whomever they were designated. Now if they're not specified, they're not designated, & they've just said, "Use wherever needed" or they don't say anything, then we can use it wherever we please, wherever it is needed.
25. But when they say, "This is for so-&-so", so-&-so gets it & must take the responsibility of sending a thank you letter! If they say, "This is for such & such a purpose," then you had better use it for that purpose or you're a liar & a thief! And I mean it!
26. If the Lord does supply that particular need some other way, you don't necessarily have to explain it, as long as you can point to that need or item & say, "Well, we got this refrigerator or whatever it was that you sent the money for, praise the Lord!"--Even if you got it some other way, fine, the point is you got it. But they need to know that you spent the money for what they sent it for or you gave it to whom they sent it for.--And it is wrong if you don't!
27. When I give money for one thing, I don't want it to be used for anything else, because you know what happens? If you don't make that specification, there are all kinds of needs they always have, & it'll be frittered away & long gone, & the project I gave it to will remain unfinished. So you have to be specific & definite because people will just not be careful about it if you don't! I want to see my project finished & know that I really did pay for it! When I look at or hear about that project, I want to know that that money I gave went into that thing & not to pay for groceries or something.
28. I don't care if they are going hungry--they're not going to go hungry--but I just want that gift to be used for what I have the burden to give it for & for what I want to see that money spent for. That's how I feel about it! Now I am sure other donors feel the same way & they would be disappointed to find out you spent it for something else, even if you write back & tell them, "Well, we didn't really need it for that after all, so we got this or that & we spent it for so-&-so." They're going to be disappointed. It's just not right!
29. That's one of the basic principles of being money-collectors for God's Work & for His Church. It's one of the basic principles I've been taught ever since I was a little kid. It's one thing even the Alliance bragged about & was very very careful about, that every penny that you sent to a specific missionary got to that missionary. And they just trusted the Lord for the rest of their needs, & I'm sure the Lord never failed them!
30. So don't ever let me hear about anyone taking money that was given specifically & designated for a certain purpose or person, & using it for something else! Is that clear?
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31. (Later:) How do you think God feels if you ask for money for a certain thing & He's touched by it & He feels you need it & that thing is needed, & so He gives it to you, but you turn around & squander it on something else? How do you think He'll feel next time when you ask Him for something for a specific use, huh? You can't be trusted.
32. It's exactly like the case of the rich man & the talents.--Mat.25:14-30. That's exactly what that story is all about! The one guy did not use the gift for what it was given for, & the Lord was very offended. It was only one talent, just a small thing. The guys He'd given more talents to were people that He obviously knew He could trust to use the money for the purpose for which He had given it! And they did!
33. Obviously He didn't trust that little guy He just gave one talent to or He would have given him more. And He was right, you couldn't trust him, he buried it. Then he tried to give it back. Well, that didn't please his Lord at all, & he was cursed. He was cursed & punished for it! Whew!
34. Donors feel burdened, drawn to give for specific purposes, & I believe God puts that burden on them. That's why sponsoring a child is so touching & has such a drawing effect, because people like to know what they are giving for, they like to see it. And they like to see the fruits of their labours, their gifts, they like to know that's where it went. But if they give it for that purpose & you use it for something else, whew, they're going to feel you're a liar & a thief!--And you are!
35. So our people had better be careful about that or God is going to judge them accordingly. God gave it to them or saw that it was given to them for a certain purpose which was specified & designated, & if they do not use it for that purpose, then they are a liar & a thief! They are robbing God & they're going to suffer for it!
36. It's entirely different if the gift is not designated & it is not specified what it is for. But when people say they want a gift used for so-&-so or given to so-&-so or used for such-&-such a purpose, then you have to use it for that purpose, like it or not! Whether you need it or not for that purpose, that's what they want to give it for!
37. So that's it! Designated gifts are inviolable. They are sacrosanct. They must not be touched for anything else, or the giver will be disappointed, offended & believe you're a liar & a thief, & that's what you are!
38. I know I don't like it when someone so blissfully, blithely, carelessly offers to use my gift for something else that I had not designated it for. I want it used for that one thing only! That's what I gave it for! I wouldn't have given it for anything else. That's what I had the burden for.
39. In the early days of the Club, some woman came in there, & some girl had talked to her about the Lord & won her to the Lord. Later on the woman sent $100 specifically by name to this girl, & I was greatly tempted, because I don't think that girl was even one of ours. But she was in our Club & she got it there supposedly to help her with her work, which was supposed to be our Club, but she wasn't even a member.
40. I was greatly tempted to use it, & I kept that thing for about a month, battling whether to use it or not. Finally I gave up & gave it to her. I knew I shouldn't touch that gift that was given by name by a certain woman to a certain girl. But I sure was tempted to because we sure needed it!
41. That's probably one reason why the Lord can now trust me with money, because I use it for what it's supposed to be used for. That's why givers trust me because they can see what it's accomplishing. They know it's being used & what it's for. God can trust me with it because it's going to be used for what He wants it used for. And the more I use it, the more He gives! But if you start robbing God & stealing His money & using it for something else that you want to use it for, & not for what He designates it for, you're going to be in trouble!
42. Many is the time I've been tempted to use something for something else, but thank God, I think I've always used it for what it was given for. So when God found out I could be trusted to be honest & use it for what He wanted it used for, or for what the donors had expressed their desire to have it used for, then both God & the donors found out I could be trusted, so I get more & more & more. Thank the Lord! Because I don't want it for myself. I ask for it for others & I give it to others just as fast as I can! PTL!
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