"The measure of a life is not its duration, after all, but its donation." Corrie ten Boom
Eighty-nine percent of Americans donate money to churches and charities. Americans gave an average of $1,620 each in 2008, the most recent figures available, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, and even that is 2% less money than they donated in 2007.
If you ever doubt humankind’s generosity, consider that more than $644 million has just recently been donated in the aftermath of the earth-shattering January 12 earthquake in Haiti—an unprecedented amount of money, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The average amount of money per donor is less than was donated in the wake of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami, but there have been millions more people donating. The advent of donating money by texting from mobile devices has likely contributed to the number of donors—12 million donors chose this method—but clearly, there is something more at play than convenience.
The Bible’s Old Testament demands a “tithe,” literally, 10% of one’s income. The New Testament, however, is clear that Christians should give money to the church to further the gospel, but the emphasis in on a freewill gift without a specific formula for determining how much money should be given. Orthodox Jews follow the Old Testament law and donate 10% of income to charity.
Alms-giving is one the Five Pillars of Islam, and though the amount of money to be donated isn’t specified, Muslims must donate at least a small percentage of their surplus income to the poor, or risk that their prayers will no be heard.
The tradition of charitable giving is universal, and in many European countries, there are compulsory taxes for money to be given to churches and charities. There is no such tax in the United States, but the importance of charity is clear in our tax code that provides tax credits to donors.
Is charitable giving a moral obligation? Is it evidence of innate compassion? If it is a moral obligation, what is the “right” amount of money to give?
There are two schools of thought regarding how much we should give to help others. One is that we should give until it hurts; we should make a sacrifice. The other thinking is that we should give until it feels good, and when giving feels good, maybe that is evidence of our innate compassion.