Susan Schaefer, Elder Board Treasurer
Do you experience money shame? Most of us, no matter what our resources are, feel shame. The source is our unjust judgments of ourselves based on skewed societal and familial ideas about money and its trappings. This type of shame is extremely hard to heal from, especially because we are taught not to talk about our money with anyone.
With money shame, we believe we are flawed or unworthy based upon our account balances, savings, debts, residences, means of transportation, and/or jobs. Without healing intervention, our self-worth can be based upon our net-worth. Oddly, the amount of net-worth, whether in hundreds or millions, doesn’t make a difference.
We would hope, that as Christians, we wouldn’t be affected. We would consider the lillies and trust God’s provision. We would judge not (even ourselves). That’s the ideal, not the reality for most Christians. “We are not saints,” as they say in 12-step programs. “Progress, not perfection.”
November is designated as Stewardship Month by many churches in the United States. It’s a time when pastors ask their congregations to pledge their time and/or money for the upcoming year. RevLiz and I have asked for 10*10. We hope for 10 new pledgers and 10 increased pledges. If God is nudging you to be one of those 20 people, we encourage you to act. Of course, we would love for everyone to pledge and and/or to increase their pledges. Yet that might not be what God is asking of you.
I am aware that our “ask” can be triggering for some LaSallers. I have more than enough financial resources, yet I have still been triggered in the past. What about you? Perhaps you are short of funds. Don’t judge yourself for that, even if you think you haven’t been responsible with your finances. You are probably your own worst judge. Neither I, nor any Elder Board member knows what you give or don’t give. That is the sole purview of our accountant and our Senior and Executive Pastors. I don’t believe that they judge us based upon our giving. Nevertheless, if you are feeling money shame, or have any other thoughts about pledging, I encourage you to talk about it with either RevLiz or Pastor Randall or with me. I have spent decades working on and mostly succeeding in healing my own money shame.
Bottom line: My desire is for you to have peace about your decision of how much, when, and/or by what means to give of your financial and temporal resources. We are grateful for whatever you feel led to give. Grace and Peace, Susan