Christ and Charity

Here's something that is very telling. Check out this graph from Google. It demonstrates the usage of the word "charity" in books from the 1800s to the present (2008). Here's another graph that takes a few steps further back, looking at the occurrence of the word "charity" in books written in the English language since the 1600s. As you can see from the two graphs, in the 1980s the English speaking (and writing) world was approaching an all-time low using the word "charity." Thankfully, it seems we are writing about charity more since the graph bottomed out around 1984, but recent events have me wondering if we really know what charity is and what it truly looks like.

I have no qualms with those of you who have recently completed your ice-bucket challenge for ALS or any other charity of your choice. It is good to give to charity, and there's nothing about this challenge that is bad or sinful. Like most good things, however, you can do a really good thing (like donate to charity) for all of the wrong reasons. My qualm is not with the ice-bucket challenge as much as the state of the heart that the challenge lends itself to and how it or those that do it can masquerade as charitable when there is very little charity behind it at times. For instance, there are those that do it for the sake of jumping on the bandwagon and appearing trendy and hip. And then there are those who have really put the thought, commitment, and consideration into their challenge because they really know what ALS is, know how de-humanizing it can be, know someone who suffers from the disease, and really want to stand by those suffering from its effects. Like I said, there are good and bad reasons to participate. 

With that said, I have been inundated the past few weeks with videos of people pouring buckets of water over their heads in the name of charity. I've seen the videos on my Facebook news feed, the morning news, the evening news, and on Youtube (no surprise there). I've seen videos from people that I see every week at church to A-list celebrities that I've only seen on the silver-screen, and it seems everyone has an obsession with dumping a bucket of iced water over their heads for charity.

This morning I ate my choicest chocolaty cereal (sometimes you never want to grow up) while watching the morning news (sometimes you do), and for once I wasn't bombarded with the most recent "celebrities" jumping on the bandwagon to help ALS with a bucket of ice-water. America had seemed to move on, as the media turned their attention from charity to drooling over the idol-infested, noise-mongering, adulterified festival that is the VMAs. I just about choked on my peanut-butter cup cereal when the anchors applauded bad-girl Miley Cyrus for asking a homeless person to accept the award for best music video (Wrecking Ball no doubt) on her behalf. They went on to show pictures that she most likely tweeted to all her fans of her philanthropic generosity to this homeless teen as she bought him a nice suit for the night and they went out to In-N-Out Burger after the show. After demonstrating such charity, the news anchors praised Miley for her performance this year over that of last years twerking incident.

Charity: Christian love of one's fellows. It comes from the Old French word charité, which refers to Christian mercy and compassion. This word comes from the Latin word caritatem, which refers to costliness, esteem, and affection.

There's only one occurrence of the word in the English Bible (ESV), and that is when referring to Dorcas in Acts 9:36 to explain that, "She was full of good works and acts of charity." The Greek word translated as "charity" means showing mercy and pity, especially as exhibited in giving alms to the poor. This word is used in numerous verses that speak about giving to the poor, to include Mat. 6:4, Lk. 12:33, Acts 3:2-3 and Acts 10:2.

Charity, believe it or not, is a word that is completely based on Christ's love for His brothers and sisters, and the work He accomplished on the cross on their behalf. If you want to know what true charity looks like, you'll have to stop watching people pour ice on their heads and open your Bible to read about God incarnate bearing the sin of humanity on the cross to his death, raising from the grave three days later, and then sharing eternal life with those He loves by and through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Charity is mercy, compassion, and affection towards those that the world has forgotten about. There are myriads of men and women out there today that this sinful world has swallowed up, and they depend on others to help restore them to a right relationship with their God and Creator. They need food, shelter, education, mentoring, encouragement, and most of all, the Gospel. They suffer from diseases, homelessness, poverty, abuse, mental disorder, physical disfigurement, emotional distress, depression, drug-abuse, alcoholism, other addictions, poor living conditions, persecution, and many other problems. The one thing all of these poor souls suffer from commonly is an apathetic culture that surrounds them that still doesn't know what ALS is even though they've watched over 100 people online and on TV dump a bucket of ice water over their heads.

I understand what The ALS Association was looking to accomplish with the Ice-Bucket Challenge, but they only accomplished further skewing America's view of charity. Sadly, the only way charities in America can survive in the near-future is by seeking to be relevant and appeal to a younger generation that would much rather spend $20 on a meal at Chili's than on charity. Direct mail campaigns, although arguably outdated in the modern-digital world, are still the most profitable way for non-profits and charitable organizations to raise funds. Sadly, the reason for that is because the only people willing to give to charities are those that still read the mail that comes in their mailbox (not inbox) and write checks in a credit-card dominated economy.

The only way charitable organizations can seem to get younger people interested in charity is by appealing to their narcissistic fascination with themselves. Point a camera at yourself, film yourself doing something ridiculous and somewhat embarrassing, post it on your Facebook profile or Twitter account, tag a bunch of your friends so that they are sure to see it, and let everyone know that you just faced the challenge and gave to charity. Hmm. Does this kind of behavior sound a bit familiar? It's a passage I referred to a few paragraphs back:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
    “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:1-4 ESV)

A valid warning and encouragement from the One who literally wrote the book on charity.

I'm not trying to shame everyone that stepped up to the ice-bucket challenge. It was a fun concept, and I know that many people who posted their videos on my Facebook news feed were not looking for praise or trying to demonstrate what good people they are like hypocrites do. Quite honestly, if I had been challenged before I took a while to think this whole charity thing through, I probably would have used it as an excuse to use multiple camera angles and play around with slow-motion video. It looks like fun and it was a very effective way of spreading the word about ALS and the need for funds to research it (which is another subject entirely).

More than anything, I want to challenge you to think twice about the way you interact with charities. The word charity comes from a Latin word that means costliness. Sadly, the younger generations have turned their backs on charities because they don't get anything in return. The ice-bucket challenge gave them a bit of fame and good press on the Facebook newsreel, so they were willing to take the plunge. But when they don't stand to get anything back in return, then charity has lost its shimmer and shine to them.

Christians, young and old, we know charity. We know a man that gave up everything for us. We know a man, "that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." We all know a man who paid our ransom from the grave, despite its infinitely steep cost. We all know a man who paid the ultimate price for our sins so that we might not know suffering, want, and poverty ever again. We all know a man who was so selfless, so compassionate, so merciful, so giving, and gave of Himself no matter how costly it was, that a word was introduced into our language to better describe such giving. Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is the epitome of what charity is and what it looks like.

So, here is your new challenge. The next time you see a charity event or an organization asking for a donation, I want you to ask yourself if there is anything Christlike about the way they are asking you to give. If not, that's okay. It doesn't mean that there is something wrong with the event or the organization, but perhaps you should find a more Christlike manner in which you can support them. Christ gave of Himself and He sought nothing in return. Christ gave something that cost Him dearly, and He didn't get a following on YouTube, He didn't get good PR on the news, and He didn't receive a really good tax return that year. He died on the cross so that He could share His entire inheritance with completely undeserving adopted brothers and sisters, that they too might call His Father, "Father," and be filled with the same Spirit that dwelt in Him. True charity looks like Christ, and anything that doesn't appear Christlike is probably not as charitable as we might think (or wish).

Take a new challenge, today. Find a way that you can truly be charitable to a person in need today. Find something that is going to cost you, commit yourself to it in prayer, meditate on it in the Word of God, and with every faculty you have, pursue it completely for the glory of God (not yourself). Don't worry about whether or not people will know what you did. Don't concern yourself with what people will think or say about you if they ever find out. Find a person that needs Christlike charity, share yourself and your resources with them, and don't tell a soul about it. It's not as fun as the ice-bucket challenge, but I can promise you that it will be truly rewarding.