But this 25-year-old is not interested in using his high salary for fast cars, fancy houses or expensive jewelry. Trigg makes money so that he can give it away, much like English religious leader John Wesley recommended when he said, "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can." Trigg believes that the more money he makes, the more good he can do.
"A lot of people, they want to make a difference and end up in the Peace Corps and in the developing world without running water," Trigg says, "and I can donate some of my time in the office and make more of a difference." He gives away half of his high-finance salary in order to save lives through the Against Malaria Foundation, a highly effective charity. Through their work, a $2,500 donation can save a life.
Trigg lives a life that seems simple to some. He lives with three roommates and walks to work every day. But he doesn't feel deprived, and he says that he wouldn't know how to spend a lot of money. Rather than becoming a missionary and going to Africa to dig wells, he donates a high percentage of his salary so that more wells can be dug by other people.
While some people shun Wall Street as an immoral place, Trigg sees making money in finance as a way to support good and moral work. He traces his approach to the philosophy of Peter Singer, a controversial thinker often criticized for his permissive views of abortion, euthanasia, infanticide and bestiality. But Singer is famous for a simple parable that even his critics find compelling:
A man walking by a shallow pond notices a toddler struggling in the water. No one else is around. Rescuing the child would ruin his shoes and muddy his suit. Tending to the girl and finding her parents would take time, making him late for work. So he walks away. The girl drowns.
Singer first told this story in 1972 and said that the lesson is this: "If it is within our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it." To help others, giving money away is not only admirable but morally obligatory.
But most Americans don't give much to those in other countries suffering extreme poverty. In 2011, the average annual household charitable contribution in the United States was $2,213, with 32% going to religious organizations, 13% going to education, 12% going to human services and 9% going to grant-making foundations.
It takes just $2,500 to save one life from malaria, which would be a gift amounting to 5% of the 2011 median American household income of $50,000. But most people don't give such a gift. "Many people talk about saving a life as one of the greatest things you can do," says Robbie Schade, a Google employee who is committed to giving 25% of his earnings to charity, "but seem unaware that it is within their power to save multiple lives every year, with little personal sacrifice."
People argue, of course, about the best use of charitable gifts. "You can pay to provide and train a guide dog for a blind American, which costs about $40,000," says Matt Wage, a finance worker who says he gives half his income away. "But with that money you could also cure between 400 and 2,000 people in developing countries of blindness from glaucoma, which costs about $20 per person." Maximizing the effectiveness of charitable giving is an ongoing challenge.
In the end, most Americans could give more to others and keep less for themselves. Jeff Kaufman, another Google employee, and his wife Julia Wise managed to live on $10,000 in 2012. Together, they give away at least 45% of their income each year, using the rest for savings and taxes.
How do they do it? In 2010, they spent just $164.44 on groceries each month and gave themselves a weekly allowance of $38 apiece to spend on nonessentials. In 2012, they moved in with Jeff's family to save even more money.
Not every American family will choose to follow the Kaufmans in living on $10,000 per year and giving 45% of their income to charity. But most could give more, so that the average charitable gift increases and more lives around the world are saved.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Join Wall Street. Save the World, The Washington Post
Charitable Giving Statistics, National Philanthropic Trust
The Big Questions
1. What is the significance of giving a set percentage of income to charity? Discuss the meaning of the biblical tithe.
2. Where do you see value in earning all you can, saving all you can and giving all you can?
3. In what sense is it a moral obligation to give money away? Are you more likely to give to charities closer to home, or to help the suffering overseas? Are you more or less likely to give to a charitable cause targeting a particular affliction (MS, Parkinson's, or diabetes, for instance) if you or someone you know has that affliction? Why?
4. What would inspire you to increase the amount you give to help people in need?
5. Are there causes beyond saving human lives that you find worthy of support, and if so, what are they? Many people choose to give to charities that support animals, such as shelters, or care of the environment, or promotion of the arts, rather than charities that serve humans. Which are you more likely to serve? Why?
6. What is the value of "living simply so that others may simply live"?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Genesis 14:18-20
And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him one tenth of everything. (For context, read 14:13-23.)
After Abram's nephew Lot is taken captive by a group of kings, Abram gathers a large group of trained men and pursues the enemy. He routs them and rescues Lot and all of the captured goods and people. Then King Melchizedek of Salem, who is also a priest, meets him with gifts of bread and wine and blesses him. Abram gives the king a tenth of everything he has.
Questions: Why do you think Abram gives King Melchizedek a tithe? How does this gift show gratitude to God? What does it tell you about Abram's relationship with "God Most High"? How is it a model for our giving?
Deuteronomy 26:12-13
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows, so that they may eat their fill within your towns, then you shall say before the LORD your God: "I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments." (For context, read 26:4-15.)
When the Israelites enter the Promised Land, they are instructed to remember their captivity in Egypt and thank God for their liberation. At the same time, they are to pay a tithe of their produce, giving it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans and the widows among them. This care for the priests and the vulnerable members of their community is an important part of obeying the commandments of God.
Questions: Where do you see a connection between caring for the vulnerable and obeying the commandments of God? How do you give a tithe of your produce? Should it all go to the church, or are there other charitable gifts that should be included in your tithe?
Matthew 25:21
His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." (For context, read 25:14-30).
Jesus tells the parable of a man who goes on a journey. He entrusts his property to three slaves, giving five talents (a large sum of money) to one slave, two talents to another and one talent to another. The slave with five talents trades with them and makes five more, earning the praise of his master. The slave with one talent hides his money and receives the condemnation of his master.
Questions: What does the parable of the talents teach us about being good stewards -- good managers of God's property? Are businesspeople who make a lot of money and give away a lot of money behaving like the slave with five talents? What can we learn from them?
Luke 21:1-4
[Jesus] looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." (For context, read 20:45--21:4.)
Jesus denounces the scribes who "devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers" (20:47). Then he observes rich people putting their gifts into the temple treasury, followed by a poor widow who puts in just two small copper coins. He commends the widow for contributing all she had to live on.
Questions: What is the significance of the widow's gift? Why is it more significant than the larger gifts made by rich people? How can we exhibit the same quality of giving as the widow?
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (For context, read 9:1-12.)
The apostle Paul organizes a collection for the poor Christians of Jerusalem and asks the Corinthians for a "voluntary gift" (v. 5). Using an agricultural metaphor, he reminds them that "the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly" (v. 6). He reminds them of the importance of being a cheerful giver, and promises them that God will give them everything they need in abundance.
Questions: Why is it important to be a cheerful giver? What is lost when a gift is given reluctantly or under compulsion? Where do you see evidence that people are enriched for their great generosity?
Galatians 2:10
They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do. (For context, read 2:1-10.)
Paul tells the story of his trip to Jerusalem, in which he told the leaders of the church about the good news he had been proclaiming to the Gentiles. He reports that the leaders "recognized the grace that had been given to [him]" and encouraged him to continue to preach to the Gentiles (v. 9). The only request they made was that he continue to remember the poor.
Questions: Why is giving to the poor an important aspect of gospel ministry? What is lost when we focus only on "the freedom we have in Christ Jesus" (v. 4), failing to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters?
For Further Discussion
1. A TWW editorial team member is friends with an upper-middle-class couple who are pregnant with their first child and starting to think about the practicalities of how to raise him/her. The mommy-to-be has been pondering how to tell a child who wants something to be bought for him/her that "we can't afford that," when they actually can, because this young mom wants her kids to grow up with the same sense of work ethic and non-consumerism that she and her siblings were raised with. The TWW team member suggested this wording: "We don't have money for that right now," explaining that the "for that" qualifies what we have determined we will spend our money on, regardless of how much we have. Is it a Christian-faith decision, even if one could afford something, to decide not to buy it because the money could bring better benefit to other lives by spending it differently? Explain.
2. In The Washington Post, Matt Wage raises the question of whether it makes more sense to give $40,000 to provide and train a guide dog for a blind American or cure between 400 and 2,000 people in developing countries of blindness from glaucoma. But is "bang for the buck" the only criterion in charitable giving? How do you see God calling different people to meet different needs? Discuss different criteria and viewpoints. How might a person have a greater responsibility to help a needy person in his own family than making a charitable donation to support work overseas?
3. Some people move from "charitable contributions are a moral obligation" to advocating that people should be forced to donate to "help others," with both the amount and the recipients determined by those doing the forcing. When, if ever, is this a good idea, and when, if ever, is it not? What does it imply about those making the determination and forcing others to follow their decision?
4. The Washington Post reports on young people giving away 25% to 50% of their income to help people in need. What is the significance of these gifts, economically and spiritually? How do you feel challenged as a Christian by these levels of giving?
5. Estimate the median income of people in your congregation and community. If everyone in your congregation gave 10% of this median income to the church, what would your church budget be? What kind of new missions could you support?
6. What kind of giving produces the greatest joy for you? Where do you find yourself most able to be a cheerful giver?
Responding to the News
Think about an area in your life where you can live more simply and free up resources to help people in need. You might choose to give up a meal at a restaurant and donate the money to an overseas mission project. Or you might skip a television show and devote that hour to tutoring an immigrant in English. Increase the percentage of your personal resources that you give away, and see if it makes you feel closer to God and his people.
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