Reading about St. Vincent de Paul on his feast day made me think about the concept of (and connection between) religion and charity. What most impressed me about his work is that, unlike most religious orders of the time, he did not require his followers to live austere lives, to spend most of their day in prayer, or to separate themselves from the world. Instead, he told them that helping those in need was a form of prayer itself.
We can be charitable in several ways: in giving of our treasure, in giving of our time, and in giving of our talents. Within these categories of charity, we can find a number of ways to give of ourselves to help others. Too often charity is thought of as simply a monetary donation, usually given around the time of Christmas. True charity is about giving of oneself for the benefit of others. It does not require fanfare or recognition.
This past summer, an enterprising marketing expert came up with the "ice bucket challenge." It was (is?) an effective method of raising money and awareness for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) that tapped into people's desire to give of themselves, to fit in with others, and to make a spectacle. While I am glad that money was raised to help end a disease (although that particular foundation supports the destruction of embryos), I am bothered by the way it required people to name or "challenge" others. Charity should not be done through shaming. Just because people didn't dump ice water over their heads doesn't mean that they don't give generously to good causes, and by giving, I mean more than just money.
We can all be more charitable in our lives, but we should do so on our terms, not out of fear of the fires of hell or out of pressure of the ice bucket challenge.
We can be charitable in several ways: in giving of our treasure, in giving of our time, and in giving of our talents. Within these categories of charity, we can find a number of ways to give of ourselves to help others. Too often charity is thought of as simply a monetary donation, usually given around the time of Christmas. True charity is about giving of oneself for the benefit of others. It does not require fanfare or recognition.
This past summer, an enterprising marketing expert came up with the "ice bucket challenge." It was (is?) an effective method of raising money and awareness for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) that tapped into people's desire to give of themselves, to fit in with others, and to make a spectacle. While I am glad that money was raised to help end a disease (although that particular foundation supports the destruction of embryos), I am bothered by the way it required people to name or "challenge" others. Charity should not be done through shaming. Just because people didn't dump ice water over their heads doesn't mean that they don't give generously to good causes, and by giving, I mean more than just money.
We can all be more charitable in our lives, but we should do so on our terms, not out of fear of the fires of hell or out of pressure of the ice bucket challenge.
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