I have a friend with a large house on the Jersey Shore, and
a 45-foot boat on which he invites friends to go fishing. He mentioned
the other day how his cleaning lady had asked him for some help to pay the
medical bills of her sick mother. The mother has no medical insurance,
and she had already been in the hospital for three weeks. My friend said
he was glad to help. "My cleaning lady has so little and I have so
much," he said. He gave her $200.
My friend said he realized that his gift would cover only a
small part of the hospital bill, and now he felt guilty that he had not given
more. But, he said, at first he was not inclined to give her anything,
and then guilt induced him to give the $200.
There was no spontaneous generosity here. He seems not
to have been moved by compassion.
What kind of mercy do you think God requires? Showing
mercy is commanded both by Jesus and often in Scripture. But shouldn't it
be initiated by a willing heart, and not just be in response to a command or a
feeling of guilt? What is the right magnitude of response, given that
each of us always has many concurrent demands placed on us: for our money, our
time and our emotional support? How do we make the choices for how much
of us to give, and to whom?
And do we have a legitimate claim to some of these
resources? If we give away all our food, for example, are we not going to
starve, and thereafter be unable to help anyone else?
One extreme way to look at this is to ask: "How selfish
are we if we eat steak and drive two cars, while many in the rest of the world
are starving?" This may create some emotional conflict in the hearts
of some Christians who hear such questions. They may feel a little
guilty! However, all sorts of defense mechanisms are quickly engaged.
"Can I help it if I was born into this rich country?"
"How will it help anyone if I stop driving two cars?"
"Don't I have the right to enjoy the fruits of my labor?"
Soon with an anxious weariness, we may turn away from books or speakers
who simply make us feel guilty toward the needy.
There is another way to approach this dilemma. Think
of showing generosity to the needy as our "sacrifice of praise" for
God's gift of grace to us. What is this grace? It is
unmerited divine assistance given by God to sinful mankind, thereby freeing us
from the curse of our sins. We have received this God-given grace free of
charge. It is a huge benefit we have received, but have not earned.
It is truly a "sacrifice" on our part, because
whatever we give ---- be it money, time or our emotional support, we have given
it away, so we do not have it any more for our own use. But, perhaps such
a sacrifice is the best way we can show our thanks for God-given grace, which
we have not earned. The risen Lord of our salvation is not here bodily for
us to anoint his feet. Instead, we have the opportunity to help the needy
as a sacrifice, to show our love and honor for Christ.
True compassion is spontaneous ---- it is an
expensive love that comes from an awareness of the grace of God.
Hopefully, the deeper the awareness of this free grace from God, the more
generous we might become to others. One measure of a Christian may be
whether he or she loves to give. How regularly are we aware of
God's gift of grace to us? Is it something we want to repay by passing
compassion along to others?
A sensitive social conscience and a life poured out in deeds
of compassion for the needy, are the signs of a person who really understands
the nature of God's grace given freely to us. Guilt should not be the
main motivation for helping the needy.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal
growth this summer at CPC.
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