Charity: the voluntary giving of help, typically money, to those in need.
Benevolence: An inclination to perform kind, charitable acts

Too often people are charitable and benevolent because they see a need and want to help meet that need. They give money to fight homelessness, hunger, poverty, illiteracy, illness, etc. All these gifts are well-intentioned – no one gives because they are mean-spirited.

However, I do wonder at the motivation of the gift. Some gifts are given in order to receive a tax write off. Some gifts are made in order to look good in the eyes of others. Some gifts are more personal because of a family member’s situation.

To me, it seems that charity and benevolence is done from a desire to attack the cause of a condition. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the causes of hunger, poverty, illiteracy, etc. any more than anyone else. I find them despicable and wish they were eliminated. However, I do wish that the reason people were generously-minded was from a philanthropic viewpoint.

Philanthropy: The effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations (from the Greek: philo = love and anthropos = man)

Before you say this is “just semantics” and that philanthropy is the same as charity or benevolence, think about the motivation for giving. Philanthropy is done because you want to help a person whereas charity is cause related. If benevolence is to fight homelessness, philanthropy seeks to work with “Mike” or “Susie” to find them a place to live and to address the situation that made Mike or Susie homeless in the first place. Charity is about giving left-over clothes or money so that an organization can do something to meet a need. Philanthropy is about you getting personally involved because you love people as individuals, not as causes or charities.

Jesus didn’t come to be charitable or benevolent. Jesus came because He loves humanity and wanted to get personally involved in our situation, to get his hand dirty in our mess, and to face us in the muck and mire in which we had gotten ourselves. This was about human love.

Here is another way to categorize charity versus philanthropy. It comes from the 12th century Jewish philosopher Maimonides who wrote the Eight Levels of Giving:

1. A man gives, but is glum when he gives. This is the lowest degree of all.
2. A man gives with a cheerful countenance, but gives less than he should.
3. A man gives, but only when asked by the poor.
4. A man gives without having to be asked, but gives directly to the poor who know therefore to whom they are indebted, and he, too, knows whom he has benefited.
5. A man places his donation in a certain place and then turns his back so that he does not know which of the poor he has benefited, but the poor man knows to whom he is indebted.
6. A man throws the money into the house of a poor man. The poor man does not know to whom he is indebted, but the donor knows whom he has benefited.
7. A man contributes anonymously to the charity fund that is then distributed to the poor. Here the poor man does not know to whom he is indebted, neither does the donor know whom he has benefited.
8. Highest of all is when money is given to prevent another from becoming poor, as by providing him with a job or by lending him money to tide him over a difficult period. There is no charity greater than this becasue it prevents poverty in the first instance.

Lead On!
Steve

Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.

Motives are at the heart of generosity. Why are you generous? What action, event, cause, purpose, or reason makes you generous? Every person has a different motivation for being generous.

The writer of Proverbs in the Bible says that one motivation is to get nothing in return. Feeding the poor means you don’t expect anything in return. In fact, you’ll probably be met with suspicion as to why you’re feeding the poor – suspicion from both the poor you’re helping and from your peers who wonder at your motives. So, to see who is truly generous, see how they act around the truly poor. Observe them, their interactions with the less fortunate. Watch what they say and how they say it to those with few financial means.

A few times (too few, really) I’ve taken action to be generous according to this verse. Each time I’ve come away changed. I tell these stories to remind myself to be more generous more often – because it is good for me. Ironically, each time I share, I’m blessed; each time I give, I get.

• While I was in grad school, I went to the grocery store. At the checkout line, the lady in front of me forgot her wallet at home. She left the items in the checkout line and went to call her family to bring some money. I knew she was poor from what she was buying and having to put back because it cost too much. When she stepped aside, I got $20 from my wallet and paid for her groceries and asked the cashier not to tell her. I paid for my own and left the store. That was over 25 years ago – it is still a fresh memory.
• While on a trip overseas, I came across a family of four who are economic refugees. They travel (with two young children) from country to country looking for jobs. My heart aches for the kids who think this is normal and who don’t have the opportunity to have a solid education so they can become professionals to break the economic cycle. My wife and I gave them about $50 (all the money we had on hand). That was last year – I pray they have found a home and a well-paying job, but I doubt it.

There have been many other occasions in the years in between. It is never about the amount of money, it is always, always, always about the attitude of the heart. Each time I have been generous is etched in my memory. Each time I have asked enough to know that the recipient is poor. Every single time I have been overwhelmed with the sense of what I ought to do. And every time I did the right thing, I have welled up with a feeling a gratitude that I was able to be generous. Yes, there have been times I have not been generous – and those are also etched in my memory and are embarassing to me. They are lessons to my heart, to always have the attitude of generosity.

I challenge you to be generous in your daily life. Every so often some opportunity will present itself and you’ll have a choice – to be generous or to withhold a blessing. Believe me, it won’t affect your wallet (it really won’t), but it will affect your heart (not to mention the recipient). Be generous.

Lead On!
Steve

read: greedy, selfish, self-centered, miserly, stingy

A friend asked me what the IRS rules are regarding benevolence gifts to help people. I mean, if someone is in really, really dire straits, don’t they get an exemption from having any tax consequences if they get some money from a church? The church can give it directly to the individual, but the church has to prove that the person is really in need and know that the gift will be used exactly as intended. There is a better and easier way which is to pay someone’s rent/mortgage, groceries, medical bills, etc.

• Payments made to an individual are considered taxable income unless there is a provable expense or personal need. BTW, the IRS doesn’t care what you call it – love gift, honorarium, salary, bonus, wages, stipend, gift card, etc. – to them it is all income, pure and simple, and is thus taxable as income.
• If you pay someone $600 or more in a calendar year, then you must provide a 1099 UNLESS that is documented as a reimbursable expense such as mileage, travel, program expense, etc., etc. That means that all gifts and fees for services are considered taxable income. It doesn’t matter how serious the need is by the person or family. If you give them $600 or more in cash, it is taxable income to them.
• The only way around this is to make a payment on someone’s behalf to another organization. This includes paying someone’s mortgage, rent, utilities, car repair, medical bill, etc. The church gets the invoice from the organization and pays it directly. The money never goes through the hands of the individual – it goes from one institution to another institution, just like any other accounts payable paid by the church.
• The IRS is concerned that all benevolent funds be under the authority and control of the tax-exempt organization and that the church not be used as a conduit for personal purposes or gain. Thus, you cannot give money to your family or anyone else by “running it through the church” or you’ll jeopardize the church’s tax-exempt status.

Lead On!
Steve