In our materialist society, it is a tremendous challenge for many people to become charitable, and yet Paul, a disciple of Christ, tells us that unless we are, we are no more than “sounding brass and tinkling cymbals,” or, in other words nothing.
Moroni described charity as follows: “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. …Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, …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. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God.” (Moroni 7:45–48) Who would not want to be found possessed of charity and who would not want to become a son of God? Obviously there are those of us that have become so calloused that neither of those options seems to hold much interest for us. There is a humorous story told about such a one: “A local United Way office realized that it had never received a donation from the town’s most successful lawyer. The person in charge of contributions called him to persuade him to contribute. He started his request by saying, ‘Our research shows that out of a yearly income of at least $500,000, you haven’t given a penny to charity. Wouldn’t you like to give back to the community in some way?’ The lawyer mulled this over for a moment and replied, ‘First, did your research also show that my mother is dying after a long illness and has medical bills that are several times her annual income?’ Embarrassed, the United Way rep mumbled, ‘Um…no.’ ‘…or that my brother, a disabled veteran, is blind and confined to a wheelchair?’ The stricken United Way rep began to stammer out an apology but was interrupted, ‘…or that my sister’s husband died in a traffic accident,’ the lawyer’s voice rising in indignation, ‘leaving her penniless with three children?’ The humiliated United Way rep, completely beaten, said simply, ‘I had no idea… On a roll, the lawyer cut him off once again: ‘…so if I don’t give any money to them, why do you think that I would give any to you?’”
On the other hand, there are wealthy philanthropists that give millions to charity every year. Many of us common folk wish that we too could give as much, that we too could really benefit the numbers of hungry, homeless, and wounded in our society. Then I am reminded of the story in the New Testament: “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: “…and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, “That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” (Mark 12:42–44)
In this great country there are very few who might qualify as the widow, and most would probably qualify comparatively with those “that cast in that were rich,” though we may not see ourselves that way. I have always been a lover of Edgar A Guest’s poetry, and I feel that most of us would like to be compared to the man in his poem entitled:
“The Man Who Couldn’t Save.”
He spent what he made, or he gave it away,
Tried to save money, and would for a day,
Started a bank-account time an’ again,
Got a hundred or so for a nest egg, an’ then
Some fellow that needed it more than he did,
Who was down on his luck, with a sick wife or kid, Came along an’ he wasted no time till he went
An’ drew out the coin that for saving was meant. They say he died poor, and I guess that is so:
To pile up a fortune he hadn’t a show;
He worked all the time and good money he made, Was known as an excellent man at his trade.
But he saw too much, heard too much, felt too much here To save anything by the end of the year,
An’ the shabbiest wreck the Lord ever let live
Could get money from him if he had it to give.
I’ve seen him slip dimes to the bums on the street Who told him they hungered for something to eat, An’ though I remarked they were going for drink He’d say: “Mebbe so. But I’d just hate to think That fellow was hungry an’ I’d passed him by;
I’d rather be fooled twenty times by a lie
Than wonder if one of ‘em I wouldn’t feed Had told me the truth an’ was really in need.” Queer sort of notion he had, I confess,
Yet many a rich man on earth is mourned less.
All who had known him came back to his side To honor his name on the day that he died. Didn’t leave much in the bank, it is true,
But did leave a fortune in people who knew The big heart of him, an’ I’m willing to swear That to-day he is one of the richest up there.
May we all strive to develop this attribute called charity so that we too might be rich “up there.” As Anne Frank has said: “No one has ever become poor by giving.”