LIVING WITH CHARITY-A Personal View

For as long as man has inhabited the earth Charity has existed. In basic terms it means being loving and caring towards others in need. It exists, to a greater or lesser extent among all peoples and religions, where the provision of alms is embedded in the teachings and practices. It is most extensively developed in the “Abrahamic” religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, where it constitutes a major foundation of belief that its practice “glorifies and pleases God.” The Holy Bible, both the Old and New Testament, and the Talmud contain an abundance of references attesting to the cardinal demand for “Obedience to God and care of the needy.” Islam is equally referenced. In the Koran, charity is referred to as “Zagat” and is considered to be one of the five pillars on which the Muslim faith is based.

In all of us, the concept of charity is deeply engrained as an action that should be admired, respected and emulated and that the charitable practitioner deserves special acknowledgement and recognition for his actions. To some extent, successful people are measured by their attitude in fostering and encouraging charity to others. In the same way, a society that promotes and facilitates charity to the needy, by providing organizations or opportunity to its members to assist in caring and alleviating the needs of the less fortunate is always held in higher regard.

Charity takes many forms and has as many reasons, but in all cases it can only be genuine if the real intention is helping the needy and not for personal aggrandizement. In my experience there is always a very strong underlying emotional component associated with giving that reflects the true personality of the giver and confirms the old adage, “You can always tell a man by how he gives.”

Take for example the case of two of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett , who recently announced their intention to pledge much of their own wealth to charitable causes designed to improve the health and welfare of people worldwide, beginning during their lifetime and continuing on. This decision speaks volumes to the character of these men who, on the one hand, are recognized as strong willed, determined and uncompromising businessmen who will spare nothing to dominate and succeed in the business world, and yet be sensitive enough to recognize the overwhelming good that can be achieved in the welfare of millions of the less fortunate of the world. The difference is even more commendable when this action is compared to those of so many other people who choose to spend their riches on collecting multimillion dollar homes and planes and boats and cars and “wives”, while totally ignoring the rest of the world. The world is full of these people and their names and pictures are prominently displayed in every form of public media and sadly, with public acceptance and adoration.

But men like Gates and Buffett are not unique. They have always been around in every generation as well-meaning philanthropists motivated to give back some of their success by improving the lot of those people in need. The great industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, accepted by many as the first of the great modern philanthropists, in his essay entitled The Gospel of Wealth, recorded his concept “that rich men are trustees of their wealth and should administer it for the good of the public". He spent his life in this pursuit of providing educational opportunities, libraries, schools and universities and in the search for international peace. No surprise that names like Carnegie, Gates and Buffett will live on in the hearts and minds of people the world over, long after the names of so many of their equally successful peers, with their wealth and accompanying “bling”, have been buried into oblivion by“the sands of time.”

The world is full of people who chose to give of themselves and their possessions to help others. They do it voluntarily, often at great personal inconvenience and discomfort, because of a profound desire to give back. I personally hold these people in highest esteem for in my mind they live the true Christian ideals. Consider the very successful Irish entertainer, Bono (Paul Hewson), who has spent his professional life parlaying his fame into a universal campaign to persuade governments worldwide to improve the humanitarian needs of their people. This is but one of the many examples of successful individuals who give their names and their efforts to benefit others. They all deserve our deep-felt gratitude and our respect. Especially when compared with their equally successful “material” peers who prefer to be seen in the latest issues of People Magazine or Vanity Fair, or worse than this, spend their time in a Drunken or Drug induced stupor.

But charity is not solely restricted to successful and well motivated businessmen and is most certainly not reserved to a special group. Every moment of every day in every corner of the world, a charitable event unfurls and someone gives while another benefits. All of these are as important as the organized and supervised programs run by an organization. Real charity begins at home, in our families, in our personal contacts, in our neighborhood and in each life. It is a sacred duty of parents to teach by word and by example, the true value of charity. To me, giving charity however desirable, is a very personal undertaking and reflects the true character of the individual and is much more related to intent rather than content. In this context, I am reminded of the comment of Jesus Christ, contained in the Holy Scripture in Luke 21:1-4:

“He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury;
and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins, and he said,
"Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them;
for they all contributed out of their abundance,
but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had."

Ask yourself, how much better this world would be if each one of us took the time to show love and caring to a fellow human being who needed that one-on-one contact. To quote Louis Armstrong's, one of the greatest entertainers the world has ever seen, conclusion:

“What a wonderful world this will be”.

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And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three;
But the greatest of these is Charity.
……I Corinthians 13:13

Charity suffers long, and is kind; Charity envies not;
Charity vaults not itself, is not puffed up.
……. I Corinthians 13:4

Charity, well directed, should begin at home.
……Joaquin Miller

Charity and personal force are the only investments worth anything.
…… Walt Whitman

The practice of Charity will bind us;
It will bind all men in one great brotherhood.
……Conrad Hilton

Charity is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands.
……Joseph Addison

The smallest act of charity shall stand us in great stead.
…..Francis Atterbury

True charity is spontaneous and finds its own occasion;
it is never the offspring of importunity, nor of emulation.
……Hosea Ballou

The Charities of life are scattered everywhere;
Enameling the vales of human beings as the flowers paint the meadows.
They are not the fruit of study, nor the privilege of refinement,
and need no trumpet in the receiver.
……Francis Beaumont

True Charity, a plant divinely nursed.
…..William Cowper
The highest exercise of Charity is charity towards the uncharitable.
…..Joseph Stevens Buckminster

He who receives Charity, should never forget it;
he who does one, should never remember it.
…….Pierre Charron

A rich man without charity is a rogue;
And it would be no difficult matter to prove that he is also a fool.
…..Henry Fielding

The man who cannot live with charity, sharing other men's pain,
is punished by feeling his own, with intolerable anguish.

…….Cesare Pavese