A Less Charitable Christmas? – The Hugh Hewitt Show

This is the week of Christmas – usually a very slow news week, but my stack of stuff is much deeper than usual after only a day.  Sadly most of it is negative news.  I wanted to write good, uplifting stuff this week.  Part of the reason the stack is so big is I am purposefully ignoring stuff to try and find that positive story.  Then I ran across this local headline, “East TN charities seek end-of-year contributions amid national drop in donations,” followed the link trail a little bit and discovered this, “Most US adults aren’t making year-end charitable contributions, new AP-NORC poll finds.”  Thing are not quite as bleak as those headlines indicate, but a less charitable Christmas was not something I can set aside for later.

Some digging revealed that it is more about a change in giving patterns than lower overall giving.  Turns out people are giving more throughout the year than during year-end tax planning.  On its face that seems like a good thing, indicating people having more charitable hearts rather than simply engaging in tax avoidance.  2025 stats are not yet available; however, 2024 saw record levels of charitable donations, and troublingly, individual charitable giving is down and what there is skews to older generations.  Religious giving is down, bequest giving is down, but point-of-sale giving is up.  That’s mixed news and it does not indicate a more charitable heart, rather it indicates people being less charitable as they avoid dealing with change and rely on the companies they buy from to do the charitable giving for them.

Reducing the question to one of dollars and cents misses the point however.  True charity is a matter of the heart and is reflected in more than just financial practice.  The original English translation of the Bible, The King James Version, renders the word “love” as “charity” in 1 Corinthians 13 – the so-called “love chapter.” So more than giving should be measured to check the charitable heart of America.  Our political discourse indicates a much less charitable America.  The increasing incidence of “road rage” would be another indicator of a less charitable America.  In point of fact the very tall stack of stuff I have is sadly almost entirely devoted to less-than-charitable stories.  I wonder sometimes if we let our financial charity serve as a proxy for letting God make our hearts truly charitable.

Lots of people are complaining about “affordability.”  Yesterday we wondered if that is about actual dollar and cents or something different.  Something like a grateful heart.  Maybe you are one of those people that think life is just too expensive right now and do not think you can afford a check to the Salvation Army or show sponsor Angel Tree. So be it.  You can still be charitable.  Even if it is just around the Christmas dinner table, be charitable with those that think differently than you.  Maybe it’s today’s trip to the mall (what few are left) to grab that last minute gift – be charitable to all those people around and in that immense traffic to get there.

Regardless of giving this Christmas – let’s endeavor to make it a charitable one.