Something I’ve been prompted to think about more is the issue of poverty and what I can do about it. To be honest, I don’t regularly donate to charities. I figure that what I have, I need right now and I can’t spare for others less fortunate than I am. Maybe when I have a permanent job, I will be able to be more generous. I give to the church, but even so it is often a struggle because I forget that what I’ve been given is not mine but God’s. If anything I’m pretty spoiled…I like to go out and treat myself…I like shopping and all that.
The problem is…money spent on upgrading my wardrobe could be instead, given to charitable agencies, where the difference is between life and death. I read an interesting article for my English 109 class where the author asked this question: In the end, what is the ethical distinction between a Brazilian who sells a homeless child to organ peddlers and an American who already has a TV and upgrades to a better one —knowing that the money could be donated to an organization that would use it to save the lives of kids in need?
The author talks about how “so much of our income is spent on thing snot essential to the preservation of our lives and health”. Further, “$200 in donations would help a sickly two-year-old transform into a healthy six-year-old.” When it’s put that way, it makes me feel pretty bad about my spending.
How does God want me to spend His money? Is what I spend truly necessary for “self-preservation and health”? Maybe those are the questions I should ask next time I go out for dinner with friends, or go shopping. Even though the author probably isn’t Christian, the article made me really think about my faith and how it affects my spending. Please go read the article, btw.
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