Religion

Charity Defined

We continually hear the liberal left rant that the Conservatives want to take food out of the mouths of children and throw grandma off the cliff.

Liberals refuse to understand and/or accept the fact that their definition of “charity” is not at all what charity truly is.

Let’s look at a hypothetical situation.

If I see you with a sandwich, and I see a hungry child at another table, and I walk over to you, demanding that you give your sandwich to the hungry child, I am not being charitable. If you give your sandwich to that child, but only because I am demanding it, you are not being charitable either.

What if I ask you if you would mind giving your sandwich to the child? Maybe you have not noticed the child as I have. You willingly agree. This is charity.

Now, what if I have a sandwich, but I do not want to give up my sandwich? I tell you that you need to give your sandwich to the child, while I continue to eat my sandwich. Obviously, this is not charity.

Lastly, what if I walk over, grab your sandwich from you, not giving you the choice to give the sandwich? Is this charity? No, this is me stealing from you, whether I give the sandwich to the child or not. Whether or not I have a sandwich of my own, and I am eating it, or if I give it to the child as well, if I come and take your sandwich from you, I have taken your choice from you. This is thievery, plain and simple.

God is very clear that we are to be charitable.

This past week, charity was defined in action. With our economy in a state of disarray, unemployment numbers through the roof, and the cost of everything going up every day, it’s truly a blessing to see charity defined in actions not just words or piety.

In Woodstock, Georgia, the Georgia Dental Association’s Foundation for Oral Health teamed up with the First Baptist Church of Woodstock to host a two-day dental clinic.

The line was estimated to be 2,000 yards long (that is the size of 20 football fields), and a total of 4,000 people were in line.

People of all ages came to the clinic to have needed dental work done- for free. This event was done out of the goodness of the hearts of volunteers. Conservative Daily News contacted Martha S. Phillips, Executive Director of the Georgia Dental Association, who verified that there were no government subsidies, grants, or anything of the like used for this event, saying:

There were no government funds used. All costs were paid for by private donations.

There were people that came the day before the clinic opened, and actually “slept on the concrete”. Due to hard economic times, the need for dental services have greatly increased.

Dr. Richard Smith, a dentist who practices in Atlanta, said:

“A bunch of us started looking around and realized that with this economy we had to do something. We are not responsible for the problem that’s there, but we’re the only ones who can fix it.

“A lot of these people are in pain, they have infections, they’re missing front teeth … there’s a huge need just to get people back to work. Mothers can’t take care of their children, fathers can’t earn a living … we’ve got to help them.”

The clinic was set up at the church, where 100 dental chairs and more than 1,600 volunteers, including 300 dentists volunteered their time and service.

“We’ve got hygienists we’ve got dental assistants working, there’s oral surgeons extracting teeth, we have endodontists doing root canals … we’ve got people here to feed them; it takes an army and this church has just been absolutely incredible.”

Dr. Michael Vernon, a dentist from Augusta, was deeply moved by the response from the patients, saying:

“Two the first three patients that I saw actually sat in the chair and cried because they were so appreciative of what we’re doing here and it just made me feel good about being here.”

More than 1,600 volunteers came to help other people because they care. Private citizens gave donations. No one depended on the government to provide a single penny to the cause. This is truly charity defined!

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love [charity] builds up. 1 Corinthians 8:1

God calls us to love- to give charity- to those in need. Throughout history, the Church has been the place where people went when they needed help. Slowly, over the last four decades, that has changed. The church has stopped being the place for the needy and hurting people of the world, so the government stepped in.

The liberal left has turned our government into an idol- their god whom they see as responsible to care for everyone. This goes against God Almighty’s command that this is puffed up arrogance, not charity. While God expects us to help people in need, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says:

If a man will not work, he shall not eat.

What began as simply allowing, but what has now become an expectation of  the government to provide for everyone who does not “have”, we have stopped requiring that a person have personal responsibility for their behavior. It is a slippery slope that has gotten completely out of control and is fast leading us to self-destruction as a nation.

What once was just providing food for the hungry has now become providing cell phones for anyone that does not already have one. Somewhere along the way, Uncle Sam was shoved out of command, and Uncle Sugar stepped in. This country is so very different from the America I know and love, where there is a certain expectation for her citizens to be a productive part of society. We have allowed personal responsibility to be thrown out the window, turned to the government to solve our problems, allowed the citizens of this great nation to feel they are entitled to every whim and want that becomes the trend.

Woodstock First Baptist Church and the Georgia Dental Association has shown this nation that true charity can be done and done well. They did not look to the government for handouts. They put their hands out- not to receive something, but to give something- a helping hand to those in need.

 

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