Charitable giving is a noble endeavor and a cornerstone of Christian money management, but it often leaves us grappling with the question of allocation – how do we balance our personal finances, obligations to our church, and the desire to contribute to other worthy causes? Our solution—the Blessing Fund. Read on to learn more.

We recently wrote about 30 ways to store up treasures in heaven.

It was basically a blessing list, with ideas that included everything from sponsoring at Compassion child to paying for the person behind you at the drive-thru.

What we didn’t discuss was the fact that many of the ideas involve spending money to bless others. We also didn’t talk about where that money should come from.

If you’re a Christ follower, you’re probably familiar with tithes and offerings and may already be giving a portion of your household income to your church.

But if you ever step out in public, even for just a few minutes, you’re accustomed to being bombarded with additional requests for donations. They seem to come from every angle—the person holding a cardboard sign while you sit at a stoplight, the coworker whose child is raising money for marching band, the store cashier who asks if you’d like to donate an extra dollar to help cure fill-in-the-blank disease.

When It Hurts To Help

There are good causes everywhere, and if you’re like me, you hate saying “no.”

The problem is, we only have a limited amount of cash. If we take money out of one part of our budget to spontaneously give to something else, it won’t be long before we run into trouble, however wonderful the cause may be.

Some people avoid wrecking their budgets by taking a little money out of their tithe or regular church offering and using it to give to the various charitable causes that pop up from time to time. That’s really not a good solution.

Do I think God is going to smite you if you give part of your church donation to a non-church-related cause?

No. But I do think maintaining a blessing fund offers a better way.

The Blessing Fund In Your Budget

This year, my husband and I have decided to start a little “blessing fund.” We’re tired of constantly saying “no” to good things because we don’t have any money set aside. We also don’t want our church to get slighted every time we feel compelled to give to another charity.

So, we’re adding a new line item to our Christian budget. It’s not going to be a big one, but we believe even an extra $5-$10 a week could make a difference. We’re shifting around a few other categories like our entertainment fund, so we shouldn’t really feel the pinch.

We’ll use the money for those little things that pop up—like that extra dollar they’re collecting at the store checkout to help cure cancer, or the office cash pool to collect gift money for a pregnant coworker. Maybe we’ll save up our blessing fund dollars for a few months and help pay for a relative to come visit us. Or just take a friend out to dinner.

The possibilities are endless. And it’ll feel good knowing we aren’t robbing Peter to pay Paul.

A few dollars a week may not be much, but every little act of kindness matters. So, here we go!

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24, NLT)