It has recently been reported that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, has decided to give away 99% of his wealth to charity, in particular to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which will distribute $45 billion over the coming years to different charities. His aim is that of “advancing human potential and promoting equality for all children in the next generation”.
He has been inspired to do this by the fact that he and his wife have just had a daughter, and they want her and other children to grow up in hope. He should be praised for this idea and for – as they say – putting his money where his mouth is. Bill and Melinda Gates have done something similar and are very active in promoting work in many fields throughout the world. It is largely thanks to them, we can say, that the HIV/AIDS crisis in Botswana has been contained.
Maybe it is not such a difficult thing for those who have huge amounts of money to give some of it away for good causes. Yet we hear stories every day about ordinary people with little or no money who happily give everything they have to help those who are worse off than themselves. On the other hand, some people both rich and poor, will turn their backs and walk on by.
Why do we give? Is it because we want to feel virtuous or because we genuinely want to help those less fortunate than ourselves? Motives can be very complex and we often don’t admit or understand the real reasons that inspire us to do a good deed. How many people give at Christmas but not during the rest of the year, just because it is ‘the thing to do’? Giving should come from the heart, and not out of a sense of habit or duty. A kind word or helping hand to a stranger often means so much more to them than a box of chocolates does to an aunt or a new toy to a little brother or sister who already has dozens.
Taking is an even bigger minefield. How often do we take something without saying thank you, or without questioning our motives for taking – or the giver’s motives for giving? Think before you take, the next time you are so lucky. As for the whole business of giving and taking, it is worth remembering some lines by William Shakespeare from Romeo and Juliet: “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep; The more I give to thee, / The more I have, for both are infinite”.