By embracing the charism of giving, we become channels of God’s provision, obviously and tangibly. We generously pour out our time, talent, and resources to meet the needs of others.
Understanding the Giving Charism
Charisms are supernatural gifts that God gives to each of us for the building up of his Church. The giving charism is obviously no exception. It empowers individuals to receive abundantly and be supernaturally generous. It allows them to embody the hands of God in a tangible way.
God’s Provision and the Giving Charism
Firstly, it is awe-inspiring to recognize that our Heavenly Father is a God who provides for every need. He has designed the giving charism as a way for us to participate in making his presence known. Through whatever means, those with a giving charism have a unique opportunity to express Christ’s love and compassion.
Challenges and Gratitude
Those with giving charism often wrestle with their financial success and wonder if they are truly aligned with God’s plan. Some even consider leaving their high-paying jobs to pursue ministry. However, it’s essential to appreciate the valuable role that those with a giving charism play in providing for the physical needs of others.
Finally, this charism highlights how the economy works in God’s mind. It reminds us of our call to be supernaturally generous with all that we have received.
Finally, embark on your own journey of discovering your charisms by visiting our website and downloading the free PDF guide. May we all use our gifts and talents generously. May we align ourselves with God’s plan as we promote supernatural generosity in our lives and in the world.
Jill Simons [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to Charisms for Catholics. My name is Jill Simons and I’m the executive director at Many Parts Ministries where we equip the Body of Christ by helping people learn about and discern their charisms, which is really another word for spiritual gifts. When you discern your charisms you’re able to see how the Holy Spirit is already active in your life and where he is inviting you to further build the Church. Let’s dive in. Today we’re going to be chatting about the charism of giving and what that looks like in our lives and in the life of the larger Church. So on a definition level, the charism of giving empowers individuals to be able to be a conduit of God’s provision so they are able to receive, usually abundantly, in tangible things and then be supernaturally generous with their time, talent, and resources. Now there is kind of been a broadening of the definition of giving over the last 30 years or so in the larger community, moving it beyond just physical giving. But I do really strongly believe that there is a very large monetary and physical component to this charism.
Jill Simons [00:01:26]:
Essentially, this charism is a huge part of God’s plan for provision for the Church. This is going to empower individuals to really be able to receive monetarily, typically physically at a high level, but also be relatively detached from what they are receiving so that they’re able to give supernaturally. This is one of my parents and watching it up close over 30 years has given me a lot of clarity about what that looks like because there is a lot of natural ability to be in a role that is well-paying and that’s typical. I see that in a lot of people who have this giving charism. There’ll be a lot of natural ability that allows them to be in a higher paying profession and also the other life structures to make that possible, access to education, et cetera. And then when they pursue that, a lot of them will question if they’re doing the right thing because typically I’ve actually never seen this where it wasn’t in a secular profession. So these are your doctors, lawyers, actuaries, et cetera, that are making significant financial reimbursement for their efforts, that are concerned that they’re not really living out God’s plan for them because they’re making a lot of money doing something that they’re pretty good at, and they’re concerned that that is not adequately contributing to what God wants them to do. And I’ve had some people say, you know, I’m contemplating quitting my job and switching to ministry and stuff like that. And I’m not going to say that the Holy Spirit has never asked anyone to do that.
Jill Simons [00:03:06]:
Of course, everyone is on their very own individualized journey. But several people that I’ve had that conversation with were actually very uncomfortable with the fact that giving might be one of their primary charisms because that had never been articulated in a way that it was valuable to them. So they had struggled to identify that this is what the Holy Spirit was doing. And then because of that, because they had never identified that, they struggled to value it adequately. And they struggled to realize that them being in this role that they’re in is part of how God has been planning to provide physically for the needs of other people with other gifts, other charisms that are a part of the Church. And so this is a very cool charism. Every single one of them is really cool. But I think that it’s really interesting to see then kind of how economy is in God’s mind where we have this,
Jill Simons [00:04:06]:
we want to use the fullness of what we’ve been given and receive from that. But not in a way that we are just drawing into ourselves and closing off on ourselves, but in a way where then we practice supernatural generosity after having received generously from God, really, to have the gifts and talents and the place in the world to be able to do what you’re doing. So I want to speak to a couple of emails that I’ve gotten before saying that it’s from a place of incredible privilege for us to call this a charism. And this is where it gets a little bit muddy to put together things that are going on socially in the moment with the timeless nature of the charisms given by the Holy Spirit. So there’s a lot of people who are concerned about and uncomfortable with how resources are distributed in our world right now. I have no authority and no ability to speak to that. And this is not about that. This is about what does the Holy Spirit do with the people that are surrendered to Him.
Jill Simons [00:05:22]:
And that does not change based on the socioeconomic landscape of whatever given country at whatever given time. We know that God wants to provide for his people and part of provision in the modern world is financial provision because our world doesn’t work in such a way that we can all go and grow our own food and work our own land, et cetera, et cetera. The structure of society requires financial ability and we know that the Lord is quite not only capable of, but wants to provide for our physical needs just as much as our spiritual and personal needs. That doesn’t mean that there’s always money to spare but he will make a way and he will provide for those things. The people with a giving charism are part of his plan to make that way. Our judgments based on the society and whatever political landscape about whether those people should exist or anything else doesn’t relate to this conversation. This conversation is just about the fact that God invites some people into supernatural generosity through the charism of giving. And that is a beautiful gift to the Church as a whole.
Jill Simons [00:06:45]:
Again, like I’ve said in other episodes, I’m just a reporter here. I don’t make the rules, I just share them as they have been passed down through Scripture and Tradition to me and as I have felt the Lord really teaching me about these as I’ve moved through the last ten years of working with charisms. And I think that this is something that is actually really really beautiful, that the Lord could just magically rain down money from heaven, but he wants to invite his people to be that conduit of his provision. And so these people with a giving charism have this opportunity to be the hands of God in a really tangible way. Every single charism is the opportunity to be a part of God made present in the world in a really tangible way. And this is really the hands that giving quality of the Father and wanting to provide for every need. And so if you have a giving charism, or if you are looking at people with a giving charism, with anything other than gratitude that the Lord has provided that, that’s just a place to explore with the Holy Spirit.
Jill Simons [00:08:02]:
I’m not going to condemn anyone or shame anyone for whatever baggage comes into this conversation. But this is a good thing that the Holy Spirit is doing. And the fact that it is not the same for everyone is part of how the Holy Spirit moves. So I want you to value your giving charism, if that’s you, and if this is a stumbling block for you, let’s have some conversations with the Holy Spirit about that. Let’s explore that in prayer and really let the Lord speak to your heart about where the struggles around money and his provision might be for you. Because I know if there’s any fear, wounding, anxiety, anything like that around that for you, he wants to speak into that.
Jill Simons [00:08:46]:
So I just encourage you to make time and space for that. And I just thank all of you with your giving charisms for being the hands of Christ in the Church in such a beautiful way. Thanks so much for joining us on today’s episode of Charisms for Catholics. If you would like to learn more about your charisms or begin your own journey, head to our website at manypartsministries.com where you can download our free PDF guide to all 24 charisms and also begin your own journey by taking our Charism Assessment.
