Nobody can stop me from being generous!

Whatever you think the government should do, you still have a responsibility to give

Members of a World Relief resettlement team prepare to welcome refugees arriving at a US airport.

When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. —Matthew 6:2

The shocking, unanticipated elimination of global humanitarian funding by the US Agency for International Development has elevated the question of what Christians should expect our governments to do.

I am relatively conservative on government spending issues. Since taxes take money from individuals without their consent, I feel that government should generally be limited to doing those things that are necessary and/or have wide public support.

I become especially upset when politicians describe their ideas on how to spend money as “compassionate.” To me, compassion is what I do with my own money, not what I do with other people’s money.

However, since the world is now more connected by stronger global communication and transportation links than ever before, we are aware of humanitarian needs around the globe that far exceed what private contributions address. Therefore, I support a role for national governments in helping less economically developed countries. Many international relations scholars believe that such aid is in the donor countries’ national interest.

I would feel a little better about the sudden cutoff of USAID money if I knew that Elon Musk were personally donating $10 million to the legitimate humanitarian causes that have been left in desperate straits, instead of just spending millions on political campaigns to advance his own power and ideology. (Maybe he is doing it quietly, pursuant to the biblical admonition not to announce your gifts. But I am skeptical.)

The claim that the Trump administration had to stop all USAID funding while they figured out which projects were “woke” and which were legitimate is totally unconvincing. Surely, their policy experts should know the difference between an ideological enterprise and a hospital in Haiti.

But regardless of the Trump administration’s own ideologically driven assault on global harmony, I still know that Christians have a responsibility to give generously. Most of us, including me, give much less than we could.

If there was ever a time for Christians globally to advance the gospel by increasing their sacrificial support of humanitarian work, this is it.

I don’t want to violate Matthew 6:2, but I don’t think that telling you about my gifts is a violation, because I am not interested in receiving recognition or praise (Matthew 6:1). I do want to encourage you to consider extra giving at this time. Nancy and I are financially blessed and can easily make donations beyond our normal annual gifts to fill a small part of the hole left by the radical changes in US government policy.

So that’s what we are doing. We have chosen three recipients: one serving refugees in the US (World Relief, the National Association of Evangelicals’ relief arm), one in Ukraine, and one in Africa. Write to me personally if you want more details.

I shared this plan with Wes Granberg-Michaelson, whose long career has included service as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America and as aide to the late US Senator Mark Hatfield, a widely respected Christian in politics. He replied, “I will always support private donations for humanitarian aid through Christian groups (and others), but I couldn't make an appeal today for private donations to such ends without an accompanying condemnation of the Trump administration’s intentions.” Accordingly, I wish to clarify explicitly that my call for greater Christian generosity is not an endorsement of Trump administration policy.

Please consider joining and promoting an effort to expand Christian generosity in these sensitive times.

For a Canadian assigned to a US military installation, these are interesting times

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a collaboration between the US and Canada, is the only bi-national defense organization in the world. Last week’s special newsletter for Canadians highlighted the experience of a Canadian working at NORAD while the US president talks about annexing Canada. I thought some non-Canadians might find it interesting. If you’d like to read it, tell me and I’ll send it to you.