Thoughts on philanthropy

In response to Bill Gates’ recent comments on forcing higher taxes on the wealthy, I believe a different approach is in order.  I know of very few who have been more philanthropic than the Gates Foundation. No one can accuse Gates of being stingy. But his latest comments on making higher taxes for the wealthy is wrong headed.  Philanthropy is a good thing, but one cannot be forced to be philanthropic. Forced philanthropy is nothing less than higher taxes, i.e., taxes. Being forced to do anything is nothing to be proud of.

I would like to be able to say that the problems in the world, related to poverty and suffering could easily be addressed, in light of the extreme wealth of a fairly large number of people.  But yet, here we are, a fairly large number of extremely wealthy people and the extreme poverty, suffering and starvation of so many people still exists. What is the answer?

Somehow some people seem to have the idea that if someone is extremely wealthy, they ought to pay more taxes so as to help offset the imbalance of need versus excess.  But this is really just another way of promoting communism. The redistribution of wealth is a communist idea, that has failed, over and over again. The question ought to be, “Why should someone, who through a variety of means, has extreme wealth, be forced to give that money away?”  Now it very well could be that someone with extreme wealth should be philanthropic (I believe there is substantial biblical support for such an idea), but the government under which that person lives should NOT take their money by force. Stealing is stealing, even when it has a politically correct label.

But ultimately the problem is corruption.  It can practically be said that those with extreme wealth and extreme power take advantage of these tools and do not do what they ought.  At the same time, those of us with a moderate income, or even borderly poverty ought to be doing what we can as well. Generosity is not required only of the wealthy.  Everyone struggles with selfishness, to some degree. Apparently it is easier to see in the wealthy. Corruption in politics, too, brings about suffering for the poor and weak.  So the answer is not further corruption/abuse at the hands of government (i.e., higher taxes for some).

It ought to be the case that all of us have compassion on those in need and address those needs with their money and power.  Jesus told us that we would always have the poor with us, but that does not mean that we do nothing about it. As St John Chrysostom said, “if you have two coats, one you have stolen from your brother who has none.” In other words, we should never relish our excess at the expense of someone else’s suffering or want.

The issue is obviously an extremely complex one, that will not be answered in a simplistic manner.  Forcing higher taxes is simply further corruption and abuse. Simply throwing more money out will not fix the problem either, as the corruption that currently exists will un-do or redirect that money to wrong places.  

Fool?

The homily this Sunday morning was based on Luke 12:16-21, the parable of the rich man with a plentiful harvest.  In summary, the story was about a very wealthy farmer who had a very successful harvest season, so much so that he decided to tear down his current barns and rebuild bigger ones to hold the unusually bountiful harvest.

Interestingly, God responded with derision.  God calls the farmer a fool because of his long term plans.  The farmer, instead of responding in love to his neighbor and share his bountiful harvest, decides to invest in bigger barns and enjoy the excess in overly comfortable living.  Basically God says, you are a fool for thinking that that you will live long and selfishly enjoy all of your temporal blessings.  

The really interesting final point is seen in verse 21.  Here we read, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”  God states that the man who invests and focuses on temporal riches but ignores one’s health and relationship with God is a fool.  

So the question is, “are we living according to this passage?”  Do we live with a focus on things spiritual, rather than things temporal.  Obviously, because we are not monastics, we cannot completely ignore the needs of the temporal realm.  This is not to suggest that monastics have no involvement in physical things. One thing that is definitely required in the monastic world is hard work. The monk is required to be productive.  He must, by all legal means, produce something so as to provide for himself.  This means, using historical examples, weave baskets, gardening, produce wooden religious items (crosses, icons, etc.) or making prayer bracelets that can be sold.  But the focus, for the monastic is simply that of a good use of time and providing for one’s actual needs.

We, in the world, have those requirements as well, but we also have the needs of spouses, children, jobs, churches, mortgages, etc.  But, I would argue, even with these additional responsibilities, we still can, and must, follow the direction of this parable.  So are we?

This is probably one of the most difficult messages that we, as Americans, can hear. In our day, wealth, comfort, ease, technology and culture are in perfect opposition to this passage.  Everything in American culture, from the very beginning, has been about rugged individualism, prosperity and comfort.  These are goals that have been in place and have been the singular motivation factors in our culture.  This will be a difficult path to change and re-direct.

So what then does it mean to be “rich toward God”?  If we take the parallel that is given us in the parable, blessings come not only from our hard work, but also from the hand of God.  Just as a bountiful harvest comes from our hard work and the blessing of God via good weather, a bountiful spiritual life comes from our hard work and the love of God via the sacraments, the church and confession.  

I really believe the point of this parallel is not to drive us away from hard work, but to learn how to balance hard work in things temporal and things spiritual.  It is sheer folly to focus simply on things temporal to the neglect of things spiritual.  Both require hard work from us and from God.  But simply because God blesses our temporal hard work, does not mean that we are doing what we should be doing.  In the parable, the farmer does enjoy a bountiful harvest, but this does not mean that the farmer was doing what the was supposed to be doing.  The farmer did his hard work, God gave his blessings on that work, but the farmer did not respond rightly to that blessing.

What then does this mean for our spiritual effort and the blessings we see therein?  We are responsible to put effort into that work and God is responsible to put his hand into it as well, as he sees fit.  But it is our responsibility to respond rightly to those blessings.  

This probably means humility.

The goal

Why do we think that life should be comfortable and entertaining?  We go to school/university in order to get a job that we enjoy so that we can have enough money to be comfortable and entertained so that we can retire comfortably (i.e., stop being productive) and entertain ourselves.
It seems that most people (the culture in the USA) is built around comfort and entertainment.  But this is not a Christian attitude.  When one works through the New Testament and hears the words of the saints throughout church history, we do not hear a promotion of comfort and entertainment.  In fact, we hear the opposite.  Our lives should be formed in a way that our first thought should be how to love God and love neighbor.
Would we consider giving up our comfort if we could use our time, money and energy to provide for the needs of others?  Would we lower our standard of living so that someone else could actually eat today, so that someone else may have a place to sleep, so that someone else could learn a skill in order to provide for their own needs?
We have become so accustomed to our present way of life that, unfortunately, we cannot even conceive of living with less comfort, so that someone else can simply have their foundational needs met.  Think of the story of Jesus and one of his disciples watching people give money at the temple.  Jesus praised the old woman who gave out of her need and criticized the rich man who gave out of his abundance.  In other words, the giving of the rich man, though objectively a large sum of money, was nothing to him, as he was still fat and comfortable.
This is a topic I am really struggling with and thinking about.  How do I live in a way that is consistent with the faith I claim as my own?  We should not be idealistic, as it typically fails, but instead, we should be realistic and faithful.  We need to understand what the church means, what the church has historically taught and practiced and strive to emulate this.
We cannot allow mediocrity and ease to control and direct our lives.