In our Gospel for this Sunday (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus tells the disciples a parable of a rich man and a very poor man named Lazarus. In the parable, the rich man dies and regrets not having helped the extremely poor man that lay at the gate of his house. The rich man urgently wants to get a message to his siblings (brothers) so that they don’t end up in the same anguish.

I can’t help but feel like I am one of this rich man’s siblings—a brother rich man. Now, most days I don’t feel like a rich man, especially on a pastor’s salary, ???? but when I compare my income to others around the world, it opens my eyes. According to to Giving What We Can.org, when I type in my post tax income, I am richer than 96.4% of the world. Sounds pretty rich to me.

This Gospel reminds us how Jesus and the early Christians were committed to the poor and making a difference for them. With this Gospel, I can’t help but feel so fortunate and blessed, like the rich man in the Gospel, but also extremely moved to help the poor. Not out of a sense of guilt or anguish, but out of joy, thanksgiving, and love. But I want to also make sure I do my research when I make a donation. I want to make sure the charity is going to make the most of of my dollars.

Effective Altruism on the Rise
Effective altruism is a movement devoted to improving the world in the most logical and evidence-based way. Peter Singer talked about it in his Ted Talk, The Why and How of Effective Altruism. I was also moved by a September 2020 Washington Post article effective altruism. When I read the article, I was inspired by Brian Ottens and his wife in the article:

Brian Ottens wished he could buy his 8-year-old daughter a better iPad. The first-generation one she’d inherited from her great-grandmother didn’t support the game she wanted to play. But Ottens has different priorities. “We just explain it to her: iPads are expensive, and this several hundreds of dollars could go toward helping a lot of animals.”… Every year, Ottens and his wife donate a large amount to charities, mainly ones that advocate for animals. In 2018, they gave… 27 percent of their combined salary.

With so many needs and charities around, how do you know which one to donate your money? Charity Intelligence Canada is one of my favourite websites. Charity Intelligence Canada uses evidence-based research to help guide Canadians in their giving decisions. If you are looking for a charity that addresses poverty, Manitoba’s own  Canadian Foodgrains Bank is listed as one of their “Top 10 Impact Charities based on demonstrated impact per dollar donated of 2021”.

So if you, like me, are feeling quite rich, blessed, and moved by this week’s Gospel lesson, I would encourage you to check out Charity Intelligence Canada. I was so impressed with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s rating that I made a donation to their Pakistan appeal. Apparently the Canadian Government is matching the donations until September 28th too.