While a member of my former self important and politically connected large church, I supported their activities to a degree. But I saved my biggest giving for the unfortunate souls I met who could use the money to help them get through their day to day struggles in life. They received the bulk of my financial help. Over the years as I added it up, I realized it represented about 25% of my annual income, far beyond the tithing standard the church demanded. For doing this, I was essentially ignored since I did not contribute to the $2 million rebuilding fund to redo the main sanctuary. The motto of the church which appeared on signs coming and going was “Love lives here. You are loved.” Not exactly. Apparently I misunderstood the parable in the New Testament where Jesus talks about the poor widow silently giving a very small amount which was a very large portion of her wealth while the Pharisee beat his chest and proclaimed to all who would listen how generous he was in giving an amount he would hardly miss. I thought it was a lesson in humility and authentic generosity without needing affirmation from man. I guess I misunderstood. I didn’t realize the call was to be like a Pharisee. God apparently will never know until you tell everyone how great and wonderful you are. I suppose it has something to do with that biblical truth about God helping those who help themselves. I’ve never been able to find it in the Bible. Maybe I have the wrong translation. There is so much I apparently have gotten wrong over the years. I suppose it was appropriate for the church to quietly shun me. 🤷‍♀️