Some folks are praising Trump’s cuts to USAID while others are lamenting the cuts because needy people in the developing world will suffer.

My own opinion is that any cutback of big government or any bureaucratic overlord is a good thing. Its a good thing because big government or big bureaucracy wherever it occurs (whether it is health services, education, the military, the church, local government etc) inevitably deals with large amounts of money and wherever there is a large amount of money there is bound to be graft, fraud, corruption, gravy trains, back room deals, lobbying, kickbacks etc etc. This is not only a huge waste of money but it breeds inefficiency, laziness, entitlement, indifference, greed and violence. So: big government. Bad.

What’s the option? Catholic social teaching is based on two complementary principles: solidarity and subsidiarity. Solidarity means Yes, I am my brothers’ keeper. We should have a heart for the poor, develop compassion and give and live generously. This is balanced by the principle of subsidiarity which says “The best solutions and innovations are always taken at the lowest, most local level possible.” In other words, “Charity begins at home.”

Big government, international aid organizations inevitably go for solidarity without subsidiarity. The ideal charity is one that is small and local. People give generously to charities started and run by people they know and trust that minister to the needy in their own area first. If everybody did this there would be no need for national level and international level charities. However, that is not reality. There are locally based charities, however, that DO have national and international reach, and these local, small charities are worth our support.

The title of this post is “Taxing or Tithing” because I am in favor of lower taxes but increased tithing. What is tithing? It is giving 10% of our income to charity. As Christians we have first obligation to our local church, then to other charities of our choice. One pastor I know instructs his people: “Give 10%. 5% your parish. Another 2.5% to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal in solidarity with the wider church and the other 2.%% to other charities of your choice. This seems a prudent and fair way to give.

For those who find the 10% onerous I would argue that our Christian faith is supposed to be costly. In Old Testament times the 10% was the portion of your flocks and crops donated to the temple. In our age it is reckoned in monetary terms. We should not apologize about this approach or be timid in teaching our people about this responsibility. At the same time we should be careful not to exert too much pressure. In my experience, when we talk about sacrificial giving it is usually the poorest people in the parish who respond most generously while the well off ones are more reserved. As my outspoken spouse says, “That’s why they’re rich. They don’t give their money away!” That may be so, and of course, there are many wealthy people who are very generous, so no criticism there.

We don’t preach the prosperity gospel–that false religion that says if you give generously, God will bless you with more financial blessings. However, the prosperity gospel preacher are not entirely wrong. (Every heresy is at least half true) If you give generously you will become prosperous, but by prosperous I don’t necessarily mean you will get rich. “Prosperity” is more than “lots of money”. True prosperity means living a good, wholesome, abundant life in which you rejoice in having enough–and the sooner you decide you have enough you will have enough.

So here are the ways that tithing will lead to prosperity: If you give generously you will have less money. Having less money means you will cut back on un necessary expenditures and this means less wasteful spending. By paying closer attention to your finances you will become more responsible, by having less money and being more responsible you will work harder and find new sources of income and so you will soon have more money. You will also be happier because your life is leaner, your priorities have been adjusted correctly and your life will be more balanced. The spiritual benefits are that you will be involved in your faith and the good works of your faith and the final benefit which is eternal is that your family and friends will see your example and realize you are willing to put your money where your mouth is–and even if you are not a perfect Catholic (who is?) they will know that you’re trying and they are more likely to stay with the faith having a parent who takes the faith seriously and tries to live it out.