just what is charity? the purists and the linguists among us are already looking up the history, the ancestory if you will, of the word. within moments, God love the internet, they will be able to issue a detailed report on just exactly what the word is and where it came from. and it will be useless.
charity, as understood by the mainstream of english speakers, means giving to the poor and needy. if i have two suits and need but one so i donate the extra to the salvation army i will be eligible for a "charitable deduction" on my income tax return. i have given to the poor. i have committed a charitable act.
if i have a hundred dollars in my bank acct. and need it all to make my bill payments but i donate fifty of it to the local flood relief effort i have committed a charitable act. i am eligible for the same charitable deduction on my tax returns. i have given to the needy.
are these two the same? can charity mean both of the above scenerios? are there two different kinds of charity? how can we explain this?
if i am living in stealth and donate my time to talking with other transsexuals i am committing a charitable act. but, i am paying only what i feel i can afford. i keep my own transsexualism off the table. it's not available for donation. if i live open, donating myself to the cause of transsexual mainstreaming i am committing a charitable act. i am giving of myself more then i can afford. just as when i gave that $50 dollars to the victims of the flood, by giving of myself openly and honestly i am acting on faith. i am not donating what i have extra, i am donating what i have that is important and most needed.
i'm not saying that talking with and encouraging transsexuals is not of value, it most certainly is! i'm just saying that when one gives only what they can afford they have inserted a self-serving motive into the act of charity, thus, in my opinion, exorcized it of it's most precious compontant, that is sacrafice.
Jesus taught us to sell all our belongings and give the proceeds to the poor. in this way He was telling us about faith. He was telling us that with faith in Him we need not withold that precious comodity. God created manna for the same reason: to teach the people that faith in Him was far more sustaining then all the work of gathering and harboring ever could be. the story of job teaches us that even when confronted with the power of the devil himself, unencumbered by the will of God, with faith we will overcome all.
faith, it seems, is the most precious entity of all. from faith we learn love and by faith we learn hope. if we have hope, faith and charity we have life, and as st paul tells us, the most important of all is charity. much charity and hope, pj