When I was a teenager, I discovered a weekly column called “Thanks a Million” written by wealthy businessman and philanthropist Percy Ross. People who needed help would write to Mr. Ross explaining their situation and asking for financial assistance. Portions of the requests were included along with Percy’s rationale for his decision, which usually contained a measure of unsolicited advice.

If Percy granted all or some of a request, he would often remark that he hoped the gift brought some relief to the person. Based on the context, he might offer guidance on how to avoid being in such a predicament in the future. But what I really noticed were his responses on the occasions when he refused to offer any assistance at all. Mr. Ross had boundaries, standards, and limits for how he would help someone, and he didn’t compromise on them. He was criticized for it at times, being labeled as self-serving, or judgmental, or at the very least, inconsistent. Percy made no apologies for it. If his heart wasn’t in it, he wouldn’t give to it. He started the column in 1983, and it ran for seventeen years. During that time, he gave away more than $20 million dollars from his personal fortune.  His motto was always included in the micro-bio at the end of each column, “He who gives while he lives, knows where it goes”.

     Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34 are the two places in scripture where Jesus establishes a metric for measuring what will most influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions…“For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also”. In Matthew, it is part of the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus offers guidance on matters related to anger, adultery, divorce, retaliation, almsgiving, prayer, fasting, and…storing up treasures for yourself. In Luke’s gospel, the concept concludes a directive from Jesus to not be consumed with worry, which is ironically preceded by the Parable of the Rich Fool.

Compare the assertion from Jesus with Percy Ross’s motto. Jesus says look within your heart and consider what you value most, for that will influence almost everything…including the origin and reasoning of your generosity. Mr. Ross is offering a witness to the value of giving away what you have while you are alive so you can influence what it will accomplish. There are meaningful components in each perspective.

Ponder this…what tips the scales when balancing compassion and control? We are to be good stewards of our resources. But as people of faith, we cannot ignore the needs of our neighbor. Add to it the dynamic of how much is too much and how much is not enough? Warren Buffett said, “One should be generous enough to help someone do something, but not to the point that they don’t have to do anything.” Accountability and empowerment are critical because they can help avoid enabling and entitlement.

Percy Ross died in 2001 at the age of 84, his portfolio being a fraction of what it once was. What we keep has value on earth…what we give away has value in heaven. In many ways he lived by John Wesley’s philosophy on money, “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.”

May our personal holiness always be intertwined with our social holiness. May we always be generous with our treasures, so our hearts do not hoard God’s blessings. May we also be generous when we help our neighbor, by also helping them help themselves.