Stingy?

A few days ago a booklet of meditations for Lent quoted the account of the woman who brought a jar of spikenard and poured it all onto Jesus' head. (Mark 14:3) The booklet points out that spikenard was very valuable. "This is a story of extravagant giving." It asks the reader to consider, "Shall I be small-minded or large-minded in my giving this Lent? What would extravagant giving be for me?"

Several years ago, I encountered a panhandler on a street in Boston. During a brief conversation, I reached into my pocket and pulled out some money. I saw it was two dollars and decided not to give both dollars to him. I gave him one dollar and put the other back in my pocket. Afterwards, I asked myself why I hadn't given him the two. In fact, I decided to go back and give him the other dollar, but he was gone. By way of contrast, another time I was going with a friend to a play in Boston, and he stopped to give money to a panhandler and gave him five dollars. The two incidents showed me how far from generosity I was.

Maybe I've improved a bit. I generally try to have a supply of cash, including some five dollar bills as well as singles, to give to needy people on the street or in the subway. There's a man whom I've seen from time to time in the State Street station. He has a large old coffee cup and a cardboard sign that says, "Seeking human kindness." We exchange a few words of greeting, and I give him five dollars if I have it. But I'm still unwilling to give more than five dollars. If I have a ten in my pocket, I think I can't give that bill away. Why not? Why not even give somebody twenty?

Getting back to the question, "What would extravagant giving be for me?" I suppose twenty dollars to a needy person would be extravagant for me. What I thought of when I read that question, however, was something very different. It took me a couple of minutes to clarify my thought. I recently took a distribution from my IRA to pay my yacht club dues and reduce a couple of credit card balances. There is about $2,500 which is available for the credit cards. To take that money and give it to charities might be extravagant. Can I bring myself to do it, or am I still too stingy?