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donations

Spiritual Generosity

Asking people for money is asking them to practice a spiritual gift. So why does it make us so uncomfortable?

Those of us in the faith community often hear the request, “I would appreciate your prayer right now.”

It’s an easy ask, isn’t it? The person being asked will always agree. Sometimes they invest time and heart into the process. Other times they say a simple prayer in their head, and check it off their to-do list. Either way, the request is usually met.

But raising the stakes becomes problematic. “I would really appreciate you making dinner tonight for my …

Junkyard Management, Junkyard Wisdom Book,

Why Aren’t the Rich More Generous?

Recently read that the wealthiest Americans — those in the top 20% of income earners — give an average of 1.3% of their income to charity. By contrast, those in the lowest 20% of income earners give 3.2% of their income to charity.

How does that make any sense? Well it doesn’t, actually, but there are two theories attempting to explain it. And I’ll add a third minor theory.

The first theory is that the rich are just greedy and don’t want to give up their money. Paul Piff, a psychologist at UC Berkeley, told New York magazine, “…the …