We are All in Need of Charity

 

Give to the poor, but make sure that they are worthy to receive what you have to give.  Everything that is received should be earned and with the right intensions your gift of time and patience, or even advice and energy, should be worthily received.

 

I am not talking about the beggars on the street corner.  It is for you to decide whether or not they deserve you putting in your hand in your pocket.  In this day and age there are few people in this country that are truly destitute.

 

However there are many who are without enough spirit and who cannot find it within themselves to make the necessary mark on life that will sustain them.  They take the easy way out and expect to live off the charity of the others.

 

Many have now to change their way of thinking, because the free handouts of the past are no longer affordable in the quantity that was there in the past.  It is now a question of what is available to them and those who can make a substantial effort to sustain themselves are the ones who will make use of that helping hand that you may offer them.

 

Charity and goodwill are both important in the way of things, but what must be remembered is that a quick fix by a temporary handout is so often used as a momentary painkiller and the real problem is unaffected.

 

I would like to encourage you to do your charity work in such a way that it offers long-term solutions for those who wish to work and make a living for themselves rather than rely on the handouts and leftovers of others.

 

You may feel it is better to give donations to organisations that specialise in providing the longer term benefits, so that people who are strong in heart will take advantage of the opportunities offered to them.

 

Short term fixes are simply that.  "The poor are always with us but I will not be with you always."  These words were spoken concerning the use of an expensive jar of oil, the proceeds of which could have been given to the poor had it been sold.

 

Had this happened the proceeds would surely have been frittered away, but instead the story is told and most people who read that good book have heard of that little jar of oil?

 

So in this case, the greater good was served by not giving a quick fix to some more people, but using it in the long-term good where most understanding could come about.

 

It is so often that we may feel by giving a little of our money to an apparently deserving cause that we have fulfilled a need and there is no longer any pressure upon us.

 

It is never the amount which is given which holds the importance.  It is the intensions within the heart of the giver and the true manner in which it was received.

 

Remember the lady who gave a penny and that was all that she had, so I ask you to consider how great was her gift and how big was her heart, filled with wonderful intensions, when she gave away everything that she had.

 

I do not necessarily propose that you do this, but I will ask you to consider how what you give is used in the best possible way to help the greater good and not just a quick fix for the receiver and a smart feeling in your consciousness that you've done the right thing.

 

We are all in need of charity.  We are all in need of understanding.  Remember that we will all be found wanting when the scales are balanced and we see the many things which we have left undone.

 

Consider your futures and know where you are going.  Life is continuous and eternal and although your body may die you are eternal and will live on in spirit form to justify your actions and your service to others.  Amen.