language

What [De]Motivates You to Give?

Posted in generosity, giving, language, money, motives, nakedpastor, power of words on September 17th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – Be the first to comment

David Hayward (nakedpastor) had a post yesterday on Marketing Compassion that got me thinking. The subject of his post is a film called “The Story of a Sign” — which I blogged about a month or so ago, using it as an example of the power of words.

David had a different take, however, and raises some interesting questions about what motivates us to give:

Is charity stimulated by compassion or good marketing? I wonder if it could be both….

What inspires us to be generous? What are the underlying issues we have with money that we aren’t free to give it away without some kind of poignant provocation?

One answer for me can be found in my earlier post on giving as a tax or investment. I hate paying taxes, but I love making investments. So I find myself more willing to give to a person or a ministry when I have a sense that my gift will:

  • bring benefit, rather than harm
  • dignify, rather than humiliate
  • alleviate suffering, rather than perpetuate it
  • be received thankfully, rather than begrudgingly
  • be valued, rather than discounted
  • be used responsibly, rather than wasted
  • promote freedom, rather than slavery
  • connect and unite, rather than disconnect and divide

What about you? What motivates or demotivates you to give?

A Kinder, Gentler "No"

Posted in disagreeing, language, new words, nokay, okay on July 12th, 2008 by Steve Bradley – Be the first to comment

When my oldest daugther Olivia was 1 or 2, she invented a new word — “Nokay.”

As in okay for yes, nokay for no.

At first I’d tried to correct her. But then I realized her version of “no” was pretty effective. A well placed “nokay,” coupled with her big blue eyes, and I’d give up trying to convince her to do what I wanted her to do.

It was a way of disagreeing, without being disagreeable.

Saying no, with a little bit of okay mixed in there…in a funny sort of way.

So let your yes be an “okay,” and your no be a “nokay.”

Not sayin’ it’s biblical…or recommended…just effective.

Or maybe I’m just a sucker…

How effective are you at saying no?