I think every religious order, every fundamentalist ministry, every mainline denomination and even remote ministries to Eskimos has asked me for money at Christmas.

Why they do this is beyond my understanding. This time of year I have very little discretionary money, and I simply can't afford to give to all the organizations that solicit me. And yet they persist. Every year around Dec. 1, the mail intensifies, and I can be found amid a mound of clutter trying to get through the day.

Why don't they ask for money in July? My guess is they're hoping to cash in on people's need to have more charitable contributions for income tax purposes. That may make some sense for wealthier people, but not for me.

Unfortunately, most of these organizations need money desperately. Despite a banner year in 1997 for charitable giving, donations had dropped drastically across the board in the years before. It's time to support our religious interests, because they need our help.

Here's the first secret of giving. You don't give to religious organizations because they need your money. You give because it gives you a certain joy. You give because it makes your daily burdens lighter.

You give because it feels good.

That's not just religious talk. It's the truth.

I remember a wealthy woman, the head of a bank. When she came to church, people noticed her. She drove a big car. She wore furs and big hats, and she was gruff. One day she came into the church office and announced she was going to raise her pledge. Someone gave her a pledge card and she sat down and filled it out. She raised her pledge from $1 a week to $1.50 a week.

That was 30 years ago, and she was probably only making $100,000 a year. In my opinion, her pledge should have been $10,000 a year.

Contrast that to a brother and sister who lived together frugally and tithed every year I knew them. And when they died, the sister left $400,000, and the brother left $900,000 to the congregation.

Who do you think was happier, the gruff bank president or the brother and sister? I don't even have to tell you.

The brother and sister were bubbly and full of radiance because of their faith. The dour bank president lived solely for herself and called the church office each week with a complaint. The brother and sister never complained, never had a criticism and never gossiped about anyone, including the preachers.

Preachers tell me the generous contributors don't give pastors trouble. It's the unhappy people, those who give a pittance of their income. From my experience, they are the people who will start rumors, telling false stories about anyone who crosses their path.

Here's the other secret to giving: It should be done in a spirit of joy. I remember a man in one of the churches I served whose donation to the congregation was all the grain from one of the many farms he owned.

One year, we started a Sunday afternoon of contemporary worship. For some odd reason, this parishioner hated that service, even though he had never attended. He came to a church council meeting one evening and told the assembled fathers he would give all the grain from two farms this year -- if they would wipe out the contemporary service.

The church council debated the issue for several minutes. The pastors appealed to the council's collective wisdom, almost begging it not to accept the donation under those circumstances.

Our wealthy man stood in the back of the room and listened. Finally, he spoke again.

"Furthermore, you won't get anything from me if you don't wipe out that silly service," he said.

The council sat in silence, pondering the loss in terms of dollars: about $20,000, or $40,000 counting the second farm.

Finally one of the members of the church council spoke. I recall it like this: "I think what is happening here is a bold move to control our church. If we take this money, it's like a bribe and we will be dealing with this man for years, paying us to run the congregation the way he wants. I've never taken a bribe in my life and I'm not going to start now. I make a motion we turn this offer down."

The motion passed, and our wealthy friend left in a huff.

It was a grand victory for all things progressive, and the church council was jubilant. I suppose we had to struggle a bit that year until others picked up the slack.

But the best thing about that so-called gift was that it reminded me to always give with a spirit of joy.

Clark D. Morphew