Compassion Overcoming Fear

Some people think that instead of donating, I should be a filial son and buy my parents a bigger house, a new car and business class flights to exotic travel destinations. It is only because I have “too much” money and have never felt real hunger or desperation that I am wasting money to feed the hungry and desperate.

But this is confusing, and I am leaning into this confusion. Isn’t it strange that generosity is stigmatized, but selfishness is considered good behavior?

If you donate 10% of your yearly income to charity, you are shunned. “Who does Bill think he is, donating to charity? What a dumb waste of money. And such a show off; he’s flaunting his success in our face. Does he expect to be praised?” But if you quietly invest in crypto and real estate so you can give $25 million to your children when you die, you’re a respected member of the community. “Jim is a great guy, he has bought six rental properties! What a wise investor.”

But I don’t think charity is a shameful thing. Charity happens when our compassion overcomes our fear. We all fear having less than enough to live on, and not having enough to provide for our family. We all care for the wellbeing of strangers. But most of the time, we fear too much, and care too little. When we give to charity, we allow our compassion for strangers to overcome our fear for ourselves.

This is something that should not be shamed, but celebrated.

There is one more fear to overcome when performing public charity. You are afraid of being seen as virtue signaling. Surely the best charity is anonymous, when no one knows how much you have given. Especially in a culture where giving itself is shameful, public giving is even more shameful.

But by being open about our charitable giving, we can change the culture so that generosity is seen as the norm. This in turn leads to more charity, which is good for the world. It is worth suffering some loss of reputation if it will inspire others to help change the world.

This year I’m donating 8% of my income to charity. I do this because I know friends who are donating 10% and more. They inspire me not to be embarrassed about giving. By being public about my giving, I hope to inspire you.

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