It may be tempting to assume that since I pay tithing and regularly donate additional offerings to assist the needy, that I am a charitable person. But as good and important as those acts are, they alone do not constitute what charity is or what a charitable person does. Christ himself castigated the scribes and Pharisees for thinking that charity was only about contributions. He said:
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (Matthew 23:23)
If rephrased in our day this counsel might go something like this: you may pay your tithes and go to church or temple. These are all good things, but when it comes to charity, there is more to be done, and more to become. For I am convinced that charity is one of the critical attributes which we have been sent to earth to develop, or rather, relearn and reinforce, as we struggle to master and overcome the selfish interests of the mortal body.
Before we came to this earth, living with Heavenly parents and seeing their constant loving example of charitable service and giving, I suspect we probably developed a pretty good idea of the nature of charity, even if we had little capacity to experience it directly. But then we were sent to earth. And the veil of forgetfulness wiped away all but the light of Christ that helps us judge between good and evil, while leaving us free to exercise our agency. And we were given a mortal body, a wonderful gift that allows us to learn and experience an amazing range of physical sensations and emotional states and mental gymnastics that just are not available to personages of spirit alone.
All the capacities of our spirits are still intact. We simply must relearn that which we have forgotten and use our agency to master the physical self, overcoming the tendency to indulge in selfish distractions and rather use this new physical power in concert with our eternal spiritual nature to find our way back to God. And one of the surest ways to finding our way back to celestial realms is to emulate His Beloved Son’s example of charitable living.
But charity is tricky. Even though it is a spiritual attribute, a way of seeing the world, if you will, it seems the only way to develop it is through physical action. Simply put, in order to become charitable, we must act charitably. The divine mandate to care for the poor and needy is repeated in every book of scripture we have and seems present in every dispensation. Only very rarely in the history of our planet have there been times when this commandment was so fully obeyed that there were no longer any poor or needy among the people. And as the scripture states: “How blessed were they!”
The cynical among us might think, “Yes, it would be a blessing if the poor and needy would just disappear, and leave us to enjoy the fruits of our labors.” But that attitude misses the whole point. It was not the absence of the poor and needy that was the blessing. It was the development of the attribute of charity that came from caring for the poor and the needy so consistently and thoroughly, as the love of God swelled every spirit and sacrifice overcame selfishness, service overcame sloth, and concern for the common interest overcame contentions.
For “charity is the pure love of Christ and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.” (Moroni 7:47)
The Apostle Paul was even more emphatic about the importance of developing this attribute. He said:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 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. (1 Corinthians 13:1 - 3)
Well if this thing called charity is so important, we should probably be concerned with understanding what it truly is and how to obtain it. It’s pretty clear that it can’t be purchased, though Satan has been pretty successful in misleading the world to think that charity is just about how much money one might give. It’s a very subtle deception because it involves an action that is good and encouraged by the Gospel of Christ, the giving of our substance to help the poor. But giving alone is not enough. The heart of the giver is what is important to God. Satan would distract us by directing our focus only on the amount that might be given, using it as an anchor to engender either guilt that the amount was not enough to make a difference, or pride and the seeking of recognition for the "generosity" of an otherwise unwilling donor.
Again the Apostle Paul can help us understand the difference. As he wrote to the Corinthians:
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
So even though charity involves action, the purpose of our hearts, the intent behind the action, is what determines whether or not the gift is acceptable to God and whether or not it will have a positive effect on our eternal condition. To the Colossians, the Apostle further defined charity as the “bond of perfectness.” We might say it is the glue which binds all our good deeds to the soul and makes them part of who we are becoming.
And when it comes to charitable giving, it’s not just about money. In addition to assisting the poor and needy with our substance, the charitable soul donates time, talents, energy. Whatever the Lord has blessed you with in abundance, He expects you to share with those in want.
And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. (Acts 3:2 - 8)
Peter and John had no money, but they had faith in abundance and when asked for alms, they gave of their abundance a gift more precious than any amount of money would have been worth. “Such as I have, give I thee.” I love that phrase. It demonstrates an outlook and purpose that was modeled by the Master. It greets the world and every person in it with an amazing question: How can I bless your life right now?
What a wonderful difference there would be in the world and in each individual heart if that question were our consistent focus. Even the poor or needy person asking that question would find strength and purpose when the answer was manifest: I can bless your life by allowing you to minister to my need.
I have always been struck by how in the scriptures the Savior always left those He blessed feeling better about themselves and their potential, while humbling those who thought they were somehow better than their brethren. Truly charitable projects do the same: lifting the poor and needy, while humbling the rich, and building the faith of all. Service opportunities that meet this criteria are of value both now and in the eternities, because they not only meet an immediate temporal need, but mold the souls of participants.
Although we are allowed a so-called “charitable” deduction on our tax returns for tithing contributions, the commandment to pay tithing is more about obedience and building the kingdom and our faith than it is directly about charity. Fast offerings, on the other hand, do not come with a set amount or percentage required to fulfill the law. It is more a free will offering, guided by the heart, to help the poor and needy without expectation of earthly credit or benefit. By giving fast offerings, we follow the pattern set by the Savior, who freely gave His life for the benefit of all mankind. A generous fast offering, when we are in a position to give it, puts us in the position of the Good Samaritan, rescuing the unknown and unfortunate among us, without expectation of earthly recompense or recognition. Nevertheless, those who reach out with such love, will be loved in return by the Father of all, whose love is considered the greatest gift of all.
Similarly, the charitable soul will also recognize the opportunity to bless the needy by doing temple work, emulating the Savior’s work of salvation by doing for others what they cannot do for themselves. The truly charitable will jump at the chance to serve in callings, wherever the Lord calls them, as here will be an opportunity to share their talents and testimonies and say along with Peter “such as I have, give I thee.”
Now I know I am painting a pretty rosy picture of the perfect Saint here, able to sacrifice all without a thought for self, but let me assure you that the Lord in no way expects us to run faster than we have strength, but merely to give of our abundance, and gratefully accept the charitable ministrations of others when we find ourselves in need.
Although these principles seem fairly basic and simple to understand, putting them into practice can be a challenge. After all, we are bombarded with messages and temptations daily to devote our time and money to the purchasing of material goods and personal pampering. The underlying lie of these distracting messages is that joy and happiness can be found in the acquisition of "stuff" rather than spending our time and resources on the acquisition and development of charity.
But oh we do so love our toys. And though there is nothing intrinsically wrong with participating in the market and purchasing that new iPod or that new car or the big screen TV, or that cruise or new carpeting or a million other things, the problem lies in our attitude towards them and our expectations that they will somehow bring us joy. Deep down, I think we all recognize that joy is more a product of giving than of getting, but it may be difficult to remember that principle in the daily flash and bluster of competing commercial interests telling us to buy, buy, buy, and buy some more.
It is also difficult to put charity into practice when we become confused about who it is we should help. Are any of you as conflicted as me when approached by a beggar on the street asking for money? There is always that moment of indecision when you see the beggar up ahead. You watch as someone in front of you passes by without acknowledging the beggar’s existence, and you wonder if you should respond or not. For the natural man, concerned only for himself and his own comforts, there would be no dilemma. But imperfect as I am, I strive to be a disciple of Christ and His words give me pause:
In Luke chapter 11, He says: Give alms of such things as ye have, and all things are clean unto you. (Luke 11:41)
In Alma chapter 5, the prophet asks his wayward people: Will you persist in turning your backs upon the poor, and the needy, and in withholding your substance from them? (Alma 5:55)
The Doctrine & Covenants is even more plain: And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple. (D&C 52:40) Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment. (D&C 104:18)
Most poignant of all may be the Lord’s own words in Matt. 25: Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matt. 25:40)
These are just a few of the powerful words from the scriptures that leave little doubt in my mind about the duty of a disciple to charitably care for the poor and the needy. But there is a problem that these scriptures don’t seem to address: How can you tell if a beggar is really poor and needy? We have all heard the stories of the professional beggars who are neither homeless, nor helpless, but simply choose to beg for a living because they can make so much money from it. These sluggards who reject self-reliance, not only deceive the kind and generous, they take from the truly needy by their deception. The thought of supporting such indolence with even one thin dime is irksome to anyone who works for a living.
I was pondering this topic a couple of years ago, and ended up writing a poem to help clarify my thoughts. It’s called the Beggar’s Call and the last stanzas read as follows:
If I'm tricked by a scoundrel for some small amount
In the end, I will stand when I give life's account.
But if I'm a scrooge to the real beggar's call,
I wonder, at judgment, will I beg? Will I crawl?
If I should choose wrong, when begged for a ration,
I hope that I err on the side of compassion.
I leave it to you to decide how you would handle the beggar question, for I’m still not certain I always get it right. So rarely am I allowed out of the house with any cash nowadays that the question is mostly moot. But still I think about it.
And we should think about it. I think the Lord wants us to look at our hearts and ask some difficult questions about attitudes towards those we are commanded to serve and help and lift – to find those places in us where the bond of perfectness might not be sticking so well. To help us with that evaluation, the Lord has given us a little cheat sheet, in both the New Testament and again in the Book of Mormon, describing the standards by which our own level of charity might be judged.
And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (Moroni 7:45)
Now an entire sermon could be preached on this one verse alone, but I invite you to study and ponder its meaning in your own life. Ponder on each word, each phrase and finally on the whole of it and how it fits into the great message of the Prophet Mormon as recorded by his son in Moroni Chapter 7. You will also find a similar cheat sheet to charity recorded in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13.
I still have much to learn about charity, but I think there was at least one time when my family got it right. About 20 years ago, my wife Laura was the Relief Society President of our ward and had the dubious honor of assisting 4 different families arrange funerals for ward members who had passed away. One particularly tragic death involved a young father who left behind a young wife and three little girls to mourn his passing. That year as Christmas approached, Laura could not get this little family off her mind, imagining the prospect of this newly fatherless family trying to celebrate the holiday without their beloved daddy.
There really was nothing we could do to remove the pain and sorrow of their loss, but anyone who really knows my wife, knows also that doing nothing was not an option. So together as a family one Family Home Evening, we planned out what we might do to try to ease their burden and let them know they were loved. We decided on the 12 days of Christmas, secretly delivering a little gift each day for nearly two weeks before Christmas Day. One day it was a children's board game, on another a Christmas craft, on another mugs with hot chocolate mix, peppermint sticks and marshmallows. Each day it got harder and harder to make our deliveries without being caught, but they never did catch us. After each delivery, we would return home and my job was to give them an anonymous phone call and give them my best Santa Claus laugh and hang up. At any other time this would have just been creepy, but they came to know when they heard the Santa laugh, it was time to check the front porch.
I’m certain that Christmas was still hard for this little family, but we heard through the grapevine that there was also some laughter amid the tears of that season, and that some secret Santa was helping them endure by giving the girls a little something to look forward to each day, a little distraction from the constant pain of loss.
But this neighbor family was not the only one helped by this effort. I recall that Christmas as being more special than any other in memory, as my family’s thoughts turned from concerns about “getting” to the more satisfying “giving” aspect of the season, a part of which I think we have carried with us ever since. Though we were never there to actually see it, in our minds eye each of us pictured the excitement and imagined the laughter of little girls opening the front door to discover what new treasure awaited them there. And in the imagining, were found the greatest gifts of Christmas: family unity, charitable service, gratitude for blessings, and love for one another.
When it comes to joy, I can say with prophets both ancient and modern in declaring that “charity never faileth. Wherefore cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail – But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever, and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”
When we reach out to share of our abundance, and to assist where needed, our lives are enriched beyond measure. By getting our families involved in this work, we teach them not only the meaning of charity, but also the joy of service and an appreciation for blessings. When it comes to acquisition, this is the good stuff. This is the stuff of eternity.
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