There’s a lot of conservatives in the world who are on the fence when it comes to the topic of charity. Some come from the Christian right wing and donate a certain percentage of their income to charity without question. Their view is that their tithe is a donation to the common good and it will help someone, somewhere, in some useful way. The end is not their concern. What a great world view. Others give to charities they deem worthy in an amount that seems appropriate at the time. Then there is a third group that doesn’t give at all because they believe that charity brings out the worst in others – i.e. laziness, dependency, and neediness, etc. It’s this third group I’d like to discuss.
I personally don’t lose a lot of sleep after making a charitable contribution. I figure it’s out of my hands and into God’s. My contribution doesn’t diminish me because I know that I will always be able to make more money, buy another pair of shoes, blanket, coat, car, or whatever. On one tiny level, I get what people are saying when they are concerned that charity can breed complacency. For some recipients, maybe. Certain people are difficult to reach. But, I think, the best thing that charity does for another is bring hope. Hope that someone cares, even if no one in their family cares. Hope that anyone can turn things around and start their life on a better course. Hope that creates a mindset that the world isn’t an evil place but rather a good place with evil in it.
Make yourself the center of a vortex of good things. Be your own nucleus of good. The key to me is to make sure that charity does not reward laziness or apathy. Can you ever be sure that the recipient is being honest with you when they say they need money to feed their kids? No. They might take it, just as you’d feared, to buy cigarettes and drugs. But should that cause you to stop being charitable? No. Because it’s that one person you reach, out of all the dreck, who will be changed and spread that positive change to everyone they know.
