And Effective Altruism has put my faith community to shame
The Beginning
When I became a Christian age 15 my life began to transform, but sadly my first external play was proclaiming no sex before marriage and saying F#$% a bit less (I’ve since resumed).
Two years later at premed, Tuesday was my only night with no tutorial so I joined a church group, which was weirdly labelled “Social Justice”. I had zero clue what this was about, maybe preventing bullying at school? Our leader Jo opened with a question I’ll never forget.
“I’m fundraising for World Vision and I told my chain-smoking friend I’ll buy him a pack of cigs if he joins the fundraising effort. Do you guys think that’s OK?”
As we discussed the conundrum for the next hour my heart jumped a little. Perhaps my time, skills and money could be useful for something more than just a comfortable life in the ‘burbs'…
Why do I Give?
“When you give….” Jesus
Christian motivations for giving vary wildly. Some mostly give to keep their church club solvent, others to save face, but many have deeper motivations. Here are mine.
Gratitude and Joy
“Freely you have received, freely Give”
God has given us so much here on earth, and I’ve benefited more than most. I’m grateful for my parents, my birth country New Zealand, my home Uganda, my education, work, wife, our new baby and so much more. Under my Christian worldview, nothing I have is really “mine” anyway, and part of being a good human is to pass on what I’ve been handed, and even better multiply it if possible. Giving often works best when it flows from gratitude which “sparks joy”, not from obligation or compulsion There's a wee paradox here. I believe that giving is our responsibility. Jesus even says "from everyone who has been given much, much will be expected". But generosity flows best from a grateful, joyful and willing heart.
"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”
Utility
If we add Jesus’ “In everything, do unto others what you would have them do unto you”. To Rawls “Veil of ignorance” then we get something like my Ugandan friends thinking it might be better to buy them a mosquito net rather than my second coffee…
Although Gratitude and Joy are my core motivation, at some stage I have to decide what to do with dat kash. At Christianity’s core is that all humans have equal value, created “in the image of God”. Something like the “impartiality” of Effective Altruism although not stretching as far? From that point it should be natural to look beyond family, friends and country to the people and other beings that need our help the most - like the Good Samaritan did.
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.”
More to Come?
Eternity (for religious folks) might start now but there’s quite a lot more of it to come. So if like me you have some notion of heaven, it makes sense to invest in Good things that will endure, rather than buying/saving stuff right now which may/maynot make me slightly happier. Perhaps even for non-religious folks, investing in a glorious future lightcone might feel something like storing treasures in heaven?
“Do not bother saving money before the AI apocalypse storing up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, instead store up treasures in heaven”
Christians aren’t great at Giving
As I considered my motivations, I realised that Christians have been at the forefront of the giving thought-world and giving culture in the West at least, but as an overall group the amount we give is a disappointment.
Father of Earning to Give?
Despite Christians not being much better than average, some of the most serious believers have been trailblazers in generosity. About 300 years ago, preacher John Wesley invented the Further Pledge which was recently appropriated-without-attribution by Giving What We Can.
Wesley pledged to live on only 28 pounds each year and give the rest away. Early in his preaching career he earned 30 pounds a year so he gave away two, while at the height of his Megapastor Ministry he donated 98% of the 1400 pounds he earned, not including extra money he raised directly for church and charity. He was also anti-savings and gave everything away as he went because he figured it was better to build a better world and treasure in heaven.
“Leave nothing behind you! Send all you have before you into the lightcone a better world!” - Wesley
Given this kind of heritage, Christians should be waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the average Joe at giving. But we’re not 🙁.
We’re not much better
Rob Bell said “For serious Christians, giving 10% should just be a place to start”. Well unfortunately we’re tracking at 5-10x below his baseline…
In the USA at least, Christians do seem to give 2-3x more than others (2-3% vs 1%), but most of this goes to operating and maintaining their churches, not the humans and chickens who need it the most. When giving to church operations is removed, Christians are only a little more generous than others, and considering we give only 1% of our incomes to those less fortunate, we don’t seem like the most generous bunch.
And not as generous as early Christians. I can’t remember being in a church service where someone sold their second house then gave $500,000 to the poor…
"There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need”
Effective Altruist Giving Impresses me
Seeing so many people pledge and give 10% or more of their income with no “religious” motivation has been both beautiful and humbling and I've even felt ashamed of my own faith community. Then there’s those like Will MacAskill, @Vasco Grilo🔸and Dustin Moskovitz who give far more.
I’m still encouraged by Christians who take their faith seriously enough to give like this as well. The amazing Effective Altruism for Christians (EACH) crew has brought some of these people to light. I love the story of Grayden who works in finance and gives over 70% of his income. “Its unusual but it shouldn’t be - Even after giving I still live a fantastic life in the top 5% of earners”.
I hope to hear of more soon.
Thanks for the shoutout to EACH, Nick!
I find myself bobbling between
1) giving as obligation:
"whoever has two shirts should give to him who has none"
"sell your possessions and give to the poor."
"imagine a child drowning in a shallow pond"
and 2) giving because its exciting
"God loves a cheerful giver"
"It costs just $4,000 to save a life"
It sounds like you've leaned more into the joy, and that's wonderful!
The more I think about it, the less paradoxical it seems. I don't think those two are in conflict so much. I think we absolutely are compelled to give, but compelled from "Its the right and best thing to do" perspective, not from a "Do it even if you hate-it-kicking-and-screaming" perspective.
I think giving springing on a personal/heart level from gratitiude, but the underlying principle being that hey, this is the right/correct thing to do might actually combine without much paradox. I think if you give because you begrudgingly feel obliged you might be better off not doing it and checking yo heart first?
They don't have to be in conflict. But people feel like they are. Why else don't people give more? Most people just aren't as excited about giving as they are about spending that money on other things in life.
Ideally giving springs from heart to hands. And the best way to motivate someone else is probably to point to the heart, and the excitement, not the obligation (unless it's an opening hook - the e.g. drowning child experiment is just really strong).