Thinking about the sacrifice that Christ made for each of us challenges me throughout the year to consider what I am willing to give to others out of gratitude to Him. I will admit that there are times when I am prompted strongly to give. And, there are times that my giving is more rote; obligatory. It often helps that I am married to someone I refer to as ‘the giver’. Julie is a very sensitive, generous person and often encourages me in this area when she becomes aware of needs. She has made me a better giver and for that I am grateful.
At times, however, it seems that we can never give enough. The needs are so great. The demands on our resources are so widespread and growing. With that as a backdrop it was with complete pleasure that I discovered some interesting information while doing some research on giving in America. The data reaffirmed how great we are doing as a nation and encouraged my heart. So, I thought I would pass along some of it to you – in hopes you are encouraged.
America, you are doing an absolutely amazing job at being generous to your neighbors – both local and worldwide! No matter what you hear – you lead the world in generosity by most any measure available. For instance, in absolute terms we have no peers. Americans gave approximately $300 Billion in 2009 to local and worldwide charitable organizations. In absolute dollar terms the UK was second to the US. They gave approximately $16 Billion. So, the US gives $300 Billion and the second place is $16 Billion.
Wait a second, you might say. The UK is a much smaller country than the US. That’s not a fair comparison. Ok. Another measure of the generosity of a nation is the percentage of the money they produce (GDP) devoted to giving. In the US we give approximately 2% of our country’s GDP. The European Union has an economy that is close to our size (a more fair fight!). Yet, the only country within the EU that gave more than 0.4% of GDP was Ireland at 0.47%. In aggregate, the EU had charitable giving far less than 0.2% of GDP. Americans are at least ten times more giving than citizens of the EU as a percentage of income. Giving in Japan and China, the world’s third and fourth largest economies, was less than 0.1% of GDP; less than 1/2 the EU and less than 1/20th US giving.
Christ gave us everything; providing us an opportunity at life everlasting and all that we hold dear while here on earth. The challenge that Christ put before us is to give according to His leading and the resources He has entrusted to us. So, I am not bringing these facts up to be prideful or say we are necessarily doing all we can do. However, in a time when we often hear about our national failings – I would like to pass along a bit of positive feedback. America – we are the givers! Well done!
Hip History....
7 years ago
4 comments:
I knew it! I knew we were good people! Thanks for backing that up! Charts next time!
This is reassuring, but is our deficit here in the U.S. a reflection of this? Also, if we can afford to give so much away, why do we still have so many poor people here in the U.S.? My husband and I give all the time to so many worthy causes, but then we get disheartened to find out that in our own community we have homeless children going to our schools. Homeless children who are living in motels with their families because they lost their homes. It's so sad.
Also, I was wondering how your friends who gave so much to adopt Noah are doing. They have not updated their blog in along time. I'm sure it's because they are busy being good parents but I was hoping you can tell us that they are finding their adoption a true blessing and the biggest gift of giving they gave, their hearts, was worth it.
vicki - thanks for your comments. Noah is doing well. I'll post a picture of him and his mom this weekend when I post on the Angel Breakfast we participated in last weekend. in honesty, the transition has been a little demanding on mom and dad. they definitely feel blessed.. but sometimes overwhelmed as well. i think they are feeling better and better as time goes on, they have better communication due to noah's improved English skills, etc. but, they have said 'one is enough!' a few times in my hearing ;)
re: the deficit question: the numbers i presented were only non-compulsory charitable giving by individuals and corporations. corporations were only a small portion of the $300 Billion (about $14 Billion total).
your point is that the giving picture would look even larger if we considered that many of our tax dollars go to foreign relief/assistance programs. and, of course, you would open an entire can of worms if you were to address the 'taking and giving' that the US government does in the form of wealth re-distribution. certainly a large portion of our tax burden would rightly fall into 'giving' in reality. so, yes, foreign aid and wealth re-distribution likely contribute to our federal deficits. to that end, however, i think it makes our generosity all the more compelling. faced with high taxes and diminishing freedoms - we continue to outshine the world in giving.
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