"This is too Hard"

Matthew 19:16-22

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"

"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

"Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Here is the modern-day equivalent for the development officer:

A development officer who had enjoyed some success in raising funds for his school was experiencing some difficulty in an economy where people were holding onto funds more tightly.

He went to the most experienced and faithful stewardship person he knew and asked, "What good technique must I employ to see continued giving to our school?"

"Why do you ask about good techniques? There is only one set of principles which are good."

"What techniques?" the young officer asked. The wise one replied, "Relational development, a good database, gospel-based letters, edifying banquets, and donor-driven auctions".

"All these I have done", the young officer replied. "What do I still lack?"

The wise one declared, "If you want to be perfect, pray for your donors and minister to them even when they cannot give. Spend your days serving and blessing and you will have great treasure in heaven". "Then you will reap a harvest in God's perfect time".

The officer went away sad because he had more foundation applications to write and big donors to chase. And, the annual fund goal was looming large.