Charity is the glory of God shining through us

Money can be something of a conundrum in the Christian life, particularly as one part of the world has vast wealth, the other vast poverty and the gap is seemingly ever widening.  Add to this the ‘natural’ tendency towards selfishness and a hostile economic system which encourages a posture of self-preservation; there will be a conflict between compassion and the fear of being irresponsible and winding up in want.

As in all things though, the Gospel turns this issue on its head and points towards eternity “Make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Furthermore, it encourages us to not be afraid. 

There are good examples to be found in this area; one grandmother I met years ago was given a large gift by her children and grandchildren so she could have the trip of a lifetime. She had never been abroad and after her many years of selfless service and kindness to her family they wanted her to have something special. This was in the mid-nineties at the tail end of the war in Bosnia and the beginning of the genocide in Rwanda. And she gave this gift to the refugees from these two conflicts instead of treating herself. I imagine she is reaping the reward of a lifetime of such acts now.

Another I heard of is a schoolboy who on hearing about the work of a charity in Africa that provides one meal a day for children so they can attend school every day, decided to forgo his birthday and Christmas presents and instead give what would have been spent to enable these children to be fed and get an education. He continued in this discipline year after year and later became a fundraiser to add to this wonderful legacy.

Sacrifice is no longer sacrifice when it is done in love, it is joy to the giver and life to the recipient.

Generosity in the Face of Need ..a story from Eygpt

An old man and a brother led their life together. Now the old man was charitable. It happened that there was a famine and the people came to his door seeking alms, and in charity the old man gave to all who came. Seeing what was happening, the brother said to the old man, "Give me my share of the loaves, and do what you like with yours." The old man divided the loaves and gave alms from his share.

Now many people hastened to the old man, learning that he supplied everyone, and God -- seeing that he supplied everyone -- blessed these loaves. But when the brother had consumed his own food he said to the old man, "Since I have only a little food left, Abba, take me back into the common life again." The old man said, "I will do as you wish." So they began to again to live in common. 

When scarcity came again, the needy came back seeking alms. Now one day the brother came in and saw they were short of loaves. A poor man came, and the old man told the brother to give him alms. He said, "It is no longer possible, father." The old man said to him, "Go in and look." The brother went inside and found the bin full of loaves. When he saw that, he was filled with fear, and taking some he gave to the poor. In this way he learned the faith and virtue of the old man, and he gave glory to God