Give Said the Little Stream
In a recent BYU/Magazine (Summer 2009) there is a thought-provoking article titled: “Why Giving Matters”. The author — Arthur C. Brooks, a non-Mormon — makes the case that it is financially rewarding to give in a charitable way. While I found reading the article to be rewarding, I’m not confortable with its tenor or basic conclusions.
I would have liked Brooks to define: giving (charitable). For example, is paying tithing really a form of charitable giving? While the answer to this question may seem obvious to some, it is not for me. Is contributing to under-utilized church infrastructure or the college education of middle-class Americans really charitable giving? Are there different degrees of giving?
According to the article, Utah is the most charitable state in the United States. In Utah “people give approximately twice as much as the second leading state.” But where does that giving go? Brooks takes issue with former president Jimmy Carter’s claim that ” . . . Americans are indifferent to the suffering of the poor around the world.” While Carter’s comment is a classic overstatement, I don’t really buy Brooks’ argument either. Giving to American religious infrastructure is not what Carter is talking about. Giving to LDS Humanitarian Service, the Perpetual Education Fund, and Fast Offerings is certainly closer. Many Utahns are very dedicated to helping the world’s poor; I salute them.
My principal philosophical issue with the article is the contention that givers (both monetary and non-monetary) get financial rewards from giving. “. . . when people give more money away they tend to prosper.” “People who volunteer do better financially.” My question to Brooks: Can’t we just give without the concern for rewards, either here on earth or in the hereafter?
When I was young I remember seeing an early Mormon movie called: “The Windows of Heaven.” It touted the earthly and heavenly rewards from paying tithing. In the movie, Mormon Church president Lorenzo Snow promises rain in St. George if the church members will only pay their tithing (the church is dangerously in debt). In the movie, when tithing is paid and the church starts to climb out of debt, it rains.
This type of quid pro quo makes me unconfortable. There are innumerable examples of bad things happening to good people. Wouldn’t it be better if we give or volunteer because it is the right thing to do, not because we expect a financial reward on earth or a more confortable seat in the celestial kingdon?
July 27th, 2009 at 9:28 am
I sang “Give Said the Little Stream” in Primary:
Give said the little stream
Give, oh give
Give, oh give
Give said the little stream
As it hurried down the hill
I’m small I know but wherever I go
The grass grows greener still
Give said the little rain
Give, oh give
Give, oh give
Give said the little rain
As it fell upon the flowers
I’ll raise their weary heads again
As it fell upon the flowers
Singing, singing all the day
Give away, oh give away
Singing, singing all the day
Give, oh give away
July 27th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
A couple of thoughts here, based on recent LDS church lessons/conversations/experiences…
1] On charity… We had a Relief Society lesson a few weeks ago about charity, where the teacher defined true charity as Christ-like love. She further defined Christ-like love as not just giving goods to someone in need, but teaching, and providing them with a way (if they are able) to lift themselves up & learn to provide these things for themselves. Of course, if people are unable, they must be cared for. It’s the people that are unwilling that are a struggle for me.
I think as tithe-payers to the LDS church, members give money to their leaders, thereby giving up their control and trusting that the church is using the funds in a “charitable” way (as I defined above). As of a few months ago, I am a member of the Relief Society presidency in my ward. Our new presidency has been quite shocked at the amount of goods that have been given to people in our ward that are clearly not in true “need”. Even worse, they often squander what they are being given because they don’t use it properly. My testimony of tithing has always been precarious (I am all for charitable giving, but have concerns about how it’s spent), and what I’ve learned in my new calling wasn’t helping.
I believe that church leaders do have good intentions for their members’ donations. But I also think that as the church grows, it becomes harder and harder to make sure that the money is being handled properly. When bishops are given free reign to give out money and goods, perhaps sometimes to people who don’t really need it, it ties up a lot of funds that could be used to really change the lives of people who are in dire need, in the US and abroad. The church has a lot of good services for teaching & helping (like the Deseret Industries, among others), but the system in our ward seemed very broken.
Our bishop seems to have seen the light. Our ward is implementing a lot of new practices to weed out the moochers & counsel people before & after they are given money and food. There are very few actually “poor” or “disabled” people in our ward. I would describe most as lower-middle or middle class, but their attitude would make you think they are dirt poor, & they have no problem taking handout after handout. I guarantee most of them make the same as or more than my little family (currently on one income). One family in particular consists of a stay-at-home mother & a father with a reasonably good salary with good health benefits. They pay monthly rent & have no car payments. However, they continue to pop out kid after kid (seven now in a house no larger than mine) and collect considerable assistance from the church. They do not seem to be making any effort to change this situation (other than having a new kid every 18 months or so).
I’m sure we’re not the only ward with this issue. I just want my donations to go to people that really need the help & education, & projects that matter. That’s enough on that rant…
2] On blessings from tithing (or other forms of charitable giving)… This was a discussion I had recently with several ladies in our neighborhood. I think it centers on how you define “prosper” or “do better financially” (as you quoted in your essay). I can’t believe that any sane person really expects God to dump more money in your lap because you choose to give of what you have. More accurately, the act of giving has the effect of altering your attitude about your lot in life, your wants, & your needs. You want less, spend less, & save more of what you have. I think that’s a pretty good definition of both “prosper” & “do better financially”.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:50 am
While I think moochers are a problem, I worry more about members in developing countries. Soon they will be the majority in the Church. (As you know, I also have concerns for non-members. The orphage we hare helping in Uganda is run by renegade Catholic nuns.)
I would very much like to see the Church worry much less about the dead (baptism and temple work) and more about the living. And I agree with your point that we need to provide training as well as money. And hopefully EWB is doing that in Uganda.
A lot of tithing money goes to support BYU (assistance for middle-class members), but we have to set up a special fund for members in developing countries (the Perpetual Education Fund)? Why can’t tithing monies be used for this also?
I think tithing is important, but I think each individual member needs to allocate the monies as he/she sees fit.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:53 am
Your second point is very valid. The relationship is probably explained by better money management; but I think there are a lot of members who expect a relationship between good deeds and earthly rewards. Isn’t that the point of many stories in F&T meetings. (I paid my tithing and this good thing happened to me.) I think a lot of Utah Mormons see God “stirring the pot,” even on trivial matters.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:30 am
To Cast Bread upon the Waters
Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. –Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 (KJV)
“As Ecclesiastes nears the end of his sermon on vanity, his writing becomes more lofty and poetic, and thus more obscure. These verses are a case in point: the business about giving a portion to seven and also to eight has left many a reader scratching his head.
I’ll leave that one to the exegetes, who say the basic idea is that you should hedge your bets. A bit more manageable is the preceding verse: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Though the first half of the clause is often used now as a call for charity — with “bread” standing, as in slang, for weath and “waters” for an ocean of need — Ecclesiastes had something more self-serving in mind.”
From “Brush Up Your Bible” by Michael Macrone
September 5th, 2009 at 9:08 am
There is the issue of what to do with beggars? To give or not to give. As I pass them, there is always that awkward moment. While begging can be problem in American urban centers, passing the unfortunate is far more difficult in Developing Countries. In these economies, where there is a less comprehensive safety net, it is much more intense emotional experience. Particularly when one passes the severely infirmed. It is impossible to give to all of them, but shouldn’t one give?
If the panhandler is a scammer (and frequently we have little way of knowing — particularly in America), is our giving a waste? Are we just encouraging bad behavior? Or are we doing the right thing? Is inefficient giving better than not giving at all?
Certainly the New Testament is replete with encouragements to give. But are there better ways to give than contributing on the street? For example, supporting homeless shelters and food banks?
“Sometimes I give, sometime times I don’t,” admits Ed Shurna, a Chicago advocate for the homeless. “But my philosophy is that I always say hello.” (NG, Aug 2009)
September 12th, 2009 at 9:15 am
“While I think moochers are a problem, I worry more about members in developing countries. Soon they will be the majority in the Church. (As you know, I also have concerns for non-members. The orphage we hare helping in Uganda is run by renegade Catholic nuns.)”
I guess that was part of my point. It seems like the church spends way too much money on US church members who are not pulling their weight (in my neighborhood at least). The money currently being wasted could be put to much better use outside the US for members or non-members.
September 21st, 2009 at 8:49 am
The reason some church officials give for not being more engaged with members in Developing Countries is their desire not to make them financially dependent on the assistance. They don’t want people joining the church for the wrong reasons. But for me that seems like a red herring. There are all kinds of additional help that can be provided that would not directly involve financial assistance.
October 24th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Robert Kirby relates the following in his column of October 24, 2009. In 1971, he and a friend were broke and out of gas in Laramie, WY. It was dark and snowy and 2 am. The pair were at a truck stop:
“In rapid succession, we were told “No,” “Get lost,” “[Flip] off,” “Drop dead,” “Get a hair cut,” and “How’d you like my boot in your [bottom]?”
Just when we were about to give up, an older driver had us pull up to a gas pump. He paid to fill the tank, gave us each a dollar, and said, “You boys remind me of my son.”
“When we thanked him and told him to give our best to his son, he replied, “Can’t. He’s dead,” and drove away.”
October 24th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Scriptural references:
“He that is gracious unto the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and his good deed will he repay unto him.” Proverbs 19:17
“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you, or thirsty, and give out something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger, and invite you in, or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:37-40
“Ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just — but I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent. . . . For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substances which we have?” Mosiah 4:16-19
“Did he not find you an orphan and give you shelter? And find you lost [ie. unrecognized by men] and guide [them to you]? And find you in want and make you to be free from want? Therefore, as for the orphan, do not oppress [him]. And as for him who asks, do not chide [him]. And as for the favor of your Lord, do announce [it].” Quran 98:6-11
December 23rd, 2009 at 10:20 am
Quoting Robert Gehrke and Julia Lyon (SLTrib, Dec 23, 2009):
“Starting at the first of next year (2010), disabled Utahns will no longer be able to apply for a small state stipend to help pay their rent and afford medication, a change that advocates say guarantees those in need will end up on the streets.
The state program know as General Assistance has been overwelmed with surging requests as its budget shrank over the past few months.
To keep the program afloat, state officials said Tuesday they will deny any new applications after December 31. How long the roughly 1,100 people currently on the program will continue to receive their monthly $261 check remains unclear.”