If you’re anything like me, it’s not an uncommon thing to receive invitations to donate to some cause of other. It seems that wherever we go we are being entreated to give to some fund or charity, and that our mailboxes are full of letters asking for donations to this cause or that. People inside the grocery store asking to purchase calendars for thirty dollars each. Teenage boys and girls at the checkout lines who will help you bag your items if you donate to their sports teams so they can go play a soccer tournament half-way across the country. Mailers asking for donations to help buy a Christmas turkey dinner for the homeless of the city. Mailers asking for money to help elderly Jews by helping them return to Israel. Cashiers at the registers of retail stores asking to donate to breast cancer research, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating illnesses. Cashiers at the registers asking to donate to school supplies for needy children, the SPCA, or to give towards the Special Olympics. The requests are everywhere, and it can be exhausting.
Whereas I used to give a few dollars here or there, I’ve since stopped doing that. Some charities I refuse to support on principle [anything to do with pink ribbons and Susan G Komen] but I’ve become increasingly selective over the years, to the point that I’ll ignore 95% of requests outright for one simple reason. I do not see any eternal value in doing so. Because my labors and income is a gift from God, I want to be a good steward of it. I don’t want to be unwise in deciding where it goes and who receives it. I only have a limited amount of it, and so I want to ensure that it yields an eternal value wherever it is spent. For this reason, unless there is a Christocentric component, I will not give.
Case in point; the Special Olympics. Why would I give fifty dollars to this group when that money could feed and support a missionary in some parts of the world for several months? Where is the eternal utilitarian value of paying for an athletes hotel room or for his airfare so they can participate in a particular sport, when that same money could be used to purchase ministry tools for those who don’t have access to them, or could be used to feed and shelter a struggling missionary who is preaching the gospel to the unsaved? Where is the value?
I could give to my local SPCA, and at their request make donations to ensure that the animals are properly fed while they await to be adopted, that administrative and advertising costs are covered, and that they can buy enough sodium thiopental to put their animals to sleep. Or I could donate the money to various Christian organizations who print and smuggle in Bibles to closed nations and persecuted Christians.
I could give my money to a homeless shelter or food bank that feeds and clothes and provides financial and physical support for those who need it, or I could give to a homeless shelter and food bank that does all those things as well as makes it a priority to preach the gospel and include a component of Christian evangelism to the services they are providing. In this case I would never, ever give to the former, but I would happily give to the latter.
I could give to the local national park to help pay for salaries and garbage cleanup, capital projects and legacy gifts so that people have a better wildlife experience, or I could give even more sacrificially to my local Church as I trust the elders to spend it with care.
Ultimately I want to be wise and use my money in a way that will tangibly and practically further the kingdom of Christ. Its not wrong to give to all those organizations, but neither do I think it is particularly beneficial, especially for the Christian who ought to set his sights on different priorities and purposes in giving. Why give to an organization that seeks to only address the physical and emotional needs of someone when you can give to organizations which seek to address both physical and spiritual needs? Where is the eternal perspective on giving? Where is the biblical theology of money? I think it needs to be present at all times, and I think we need to be much more aware of it.
What are your thoughts on donating to charities or school groups of other social-justice type groups with no gospel centereness? Am I onto something here, or do you disagree? How do you and your family choose where and why to give? I’d love to get your feedback.
[Contributed by Dustin Germain]
