Giving is a Path to Peace

Today’s reading: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11

Today’s reading helps bring me peace in my long-running battle with my cell phone company.

“Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (Verse 7)

Yes, it’s true that AT&T’s various practices are cleverly designed to trick consumers into spending more money than they intend. And, yes, it’s true I’ve fallen victim to those games — to the tune of thousands of dollars over the last 8 years or so. By my calculation, in order to avoid an “early termination fee” of about $200 or so, I’ve paid at least $700 per year more than necessary.

But the truth is, I’m not starving, and (as anyone who hangs around me much knows) I’ve certainly not missed any phone calls or text messages.

So, rather than thinking of myself as a chump and spending even more time haranguing AT&T’s, always friendly, representatives, trying to convince them of their company’s evilness, I think I’ll just thank God for the extra money that I can give to AT&T.

I just typed “charities AT&T supports” into Google and an overwhelming list popped up. The company gives money (aside from taxes) to the U.S. military, to schools, to students, and to many charities serving the developing world.

Yes, I’m sure that T-Mobile, Sprint, Cricket and all the other big names in the cell phone business have similar records of giving, and, yes, I’m sure I could probably  lower my cell phone costs by switching to one of those companies.

But I think I’ll just continue blessing AT&T with my gift.

It’s how I’ve made up my mind to give, and I am, finally, happy to do it.

Thanks be to God for the abundance in my life (and for the promise of even more abundance). May I always remain happy to share it.