Christian Giving

Benevolence

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Often the world has a perception that Christians are callous. They falsely believe that we don't care about the poor and destitute. Why? We often speak up against “entitlement” programs and we vote for frugal candidates for office. We must ensure that we are not as we are accused!
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I grew up poor. Dad actually had a fairly decent job for the times. He was an hourly worker in the automotive industry long before their benefits were some of the best. Why, then, were we poor? Was it because Dad and Mom wasted their pay? Emphatically no! We were poor because Dad and Mom had Christian charity … “benevolence”. This trait is generosity toward others.

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We were a family of seven children. We lived in a home on the edge of town which Dad paid a constant $50 per month since our landlord was also charitable. He never raised the rent one time in the twelve years that we lived there! Looking back, I wondered where my closet was. I didn't have one and didn't need one for there were no clothes to put in a closet. We had the clothing on our backs and another set in the dirty clothes bin. We ate fairly well, but most of it was from the garden and the pig pen. Our “treat” was one “soda pop” when we did our monthly shopping trip to the country store for luxuries like flour, meal and “light bread” which had a shelf life of about two hours at that time!
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We had two beds in our upstairs bedroom with two boys per bed. There was no air conditioning nor heat. We zipped from the bed which had about five quilts, down the stairs to either stand in front of the fireplace or over the coal/wood-fired furnace register. If you ventured more than a foot from the heater you about froze. Ceilings were ten-feet and there was no insulation. Snow would blow through the cracks onto my pillow. However, we had it really good!
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My cousins had nothing! Many on my maternal side were poverty-stricken. They had menial jobs “down home” in the hills of Kentucky and many bare-footed kids. Why was Dad poor? He took in entire families to live in our already overcrowded home. They ate our food and wore our clothes until Dad could find them work and a home of their own to rent. Some lived with us several years at a time and when they were secure, Dad would take in another family. Often they would have a stranger traveling with them and living with us, all seeking work. Dad never refused. After the brothers and sisters were all settled, he then started with cousins. He helped all. (Those he helped remembered because they came in droves to view this great man at his funeral!). Dad is rich now... he is getting his reward in heaven!
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Dad had two rules for our house guests: no “cussing and no drinking (alcohol). He also expected them to participate in the evening Bible study. Dad expelled some from our home who would utter one oath or have alcohol on their breath. Like me in his footsteps … I hate the use of alcohol!
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Note two things: no one ever reimbursed Dad for his generosity and Dad never asked and secondly all those whom he sheltered were seeking “work”. All were there to find a job, not to mooch. As soon as they were on their feet, they were gone! That is how it should be. Dad provided help with his own money, voluntarily and with Christian love. He didn't go out and try to force others to finance his own charity, but accepted the obligation himself! (Yes, Christians have an obligation to help).
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1 Corinthians (KJV) 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
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Charity is included as the greatest of three Christian attributes. Charity in this context has two meanings and they go hand in hand: helping the needy and forbearance (tolerance and restraint). The former is helping people and the latter is from the “forgiving others their sins just like you want yours forgiven”. Giving without love is not really charitable. Dad loved and demonstrated that love by giving. He accepted those into our home who were sinners and helped them. He had forbearance! That sounds Christlike does it not? Dad endeavored to live a life which mimicked his Savior.
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This concept of giving is demonstrated by the following verse:
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1 Corinthians (KJV) 13:3 “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
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Yes, we have an obligation to give, but we must do it with a generous heart. The true church didn't force their followers to give, but encouraged it out of love. Conversely, the government obligates us out of coercion, and as a general rule, through others money. Those in government who are the most charitable are often the most stingy with their own money! It would seem that some of us who are taxed to support those who abuse the system don't get the joy of helping those who truly have need because the government redistributes our money and its programs actually discourage others to remain dependent. Unwed mothers, for instance, can get more government assistance than poor women in good marriages.
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Who are the most needy? How about the widows and orphans and a few others?
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Deuteronomy (KJV) 10:18 ”He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.”
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Dad helped the “stranger”. They weren't in the immediate family and he had absolutely no obligation as a family member. He just did it! Even widows were to be taken care of by their family if a family existed! Help was to be generous, but there were stipulations. (The best example of helping the widow is in the book of Ruth). Naomi was a widow. The landlord, Boaz, her husband's relative, allowed Ruth, her “daughter”, to glean the barley fields without harm. The workers were told to intentionally leave barley so as to feed her family. They didn't harvest the crop for Ruth, but didn't strip the crop bare. Ruth still had to do the work. Yes, today, we should require work where those can in return for charity!
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Thanks to Ruth, our Messiah's ancestor, we'd never had a Savior! Yes, charity ultimately benefited mankind!
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You see, we're called to be generous and we must be! That's how America used to do things ...out of Christian charity ...out of the generosity of our hearts. Charity should be for the truly needy! We are actually stealing from the needy when we give to the mooch. Ideally, charity should be done by the church. In practice we Christians do need to provide an umbrella tax to help those who are without or are infirm. We aren't against all taxes, but charity must be done responsibly. If the church does its part there will be millions fewer on the welfare roles. Pray and consider your charity. Are you doing enough? You are fortunate to have! Do you feel good about your lifestyle in contrast to others?