In my last post I asked the question: WHY DO YOU GIVE?

As I mulled about the issue it became clearer that no one who gives does it purely for unselfish reasons. Now, I hope I am not being jaded about this but coming across Tovia Smith’s article “Selfish Giving: Does it count if you get in return?”, I found myself agreeing with most of her observations.

Tovia points out how nowadays businesses give to charity because they “have to”. It’s an image thing. But so what? They’re businesses after all and we do expect them to think about their bottom line. However, Tovia also points out that its pretty much the same with “high school kids signing up for their community service trip — the summer before their college applications are due. It’s simply what they have to do to be competitive.”

It sounds awful but if you really think about it these people are not the only “selfish” givers. Even those who do it because of their belief, as I pointed out in my last post, give for future rewards: in Buddhism and Hinduism its for good karma, for Christians it’s for God’s Blessing and whatever their reward awaits them in heaven, for Muslims the “Zakat” purifies their wealth and is done in obedience it Allah. While it is true that their primary reason for giving may not primarily be material rewards, and may not even be in this lifetime, they still do it for a reason other than giving.

So does anyone really give for the pure joy of giving? Maybe. Maybe not.

In my opinion this is not the point though. The point is that giving is “good” and as Rory Morton, dean of students at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge said, “…once they go do it [give/do community service], they get into it. And that’s good enough for me.”

The answers to WHYs are important but sometimes we have to stop asking and just be thankful that we can do something noble and good as giving and in top of that get something in return, whether that be material, spiritual, or emotional.

Giving is a concept that can be found in most religions – if not all.

It is espoused by both the Bible and the Qur’an. In fact if you look at the following verses you’ll be struck by the similarity of what the two religions tell their believers to do.

Giving shows the believers’ love for their God:

“And they feed, for the love of Allah, the poor, the orphan, and the captive.” (Qur’an 76:8)

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3: 17-18)

Giving in secret:

“If you give alms openly, it is well, and if you hide it and give it to the poor, it is better for you” (Qur’an 2:271)

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-43)

There are other similarities such as the concept of “tithing” wherein a portion of a person’s earning should be given back to the church.

Generosity is also encouraged in Buddhism and Hinduism. In Buddhism they have what they call dāna, which when translated means generosity. However, it means more than just the word but actually refers to the practice of cultivating generosity. To Buddhists the more they give selflessly in this life the better off they will be in the next life. A belief that even Christians whose “treasures are stored up in heaven” and Muslims also believe.

The question now though is this: With all the teachings of different religions telling us to give are you practicing what you say you believe in? Do you give? In what way? How much? And more importantly, WHY?

You can find more info on giving to HAITI at Google’s Haiti Crisis Response Page.