CHARITY

FOREWORD

CAUTION

STORY TIME

A certain white man went down from New York to New Jersey in his car on a road trip.  Along the way, he ran out of gas and had to pull over.  Certain travelers stopped and feigned help only to attack the man.  They stripped him of his raiment, wounded him, and stole everything the man had of value; then, departed, leaving him half dead on the side of the road.

Now, let me paint a picture for you.  The car doors were left open.  The truck was left open.  And, the man was clearly visible to any passerby, lying on the side of the road, nearly naked.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by in the other lane.

And likewise another white man, when he was at the place, stopped and looked on him, and decided to pass on, doing nothing.

But a certain black man, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring water and antiseptic, and put him in his own car, and brought him to a motel, and took care of him.

And the next day, when he departed, he took out two hundreds, and gave them to the host of the motel, and said unto him, "Take care of him; and whatsoever you spend more than that, when I come again, I will repay you.

Adapted from "The Good Samaritan"
Luke 10:30-37

This is an example of charity, where 100% of the funds went to help somebody.

That is what I'm talking about.

Story #2

A certain woman started up a new company.  She hired many managers, who in turn hired many employees.  And, business was going well, but the woman-owner felt that it could go better.  So, she investigated as an under-cover boss into the goings-on on the ground-floor level of her business.  She spent a month in each department under each manager, pretending to be an employee of the company.

When her investigation was complete, she revealed herself as the owner of the company in a large company wide meeting.  All of the employees were divided into two groups; one on the left and one on the right.  She stood up and spoke to the congregation saying to those on the left,

"You will find on your tables, in envelopes with your names on them, pink slips.  When I was in dire need of assistance in accomplishing the task set before me, you scoffed at my ineptitude, you called me names, you derided me and some of you even threatened me with termination.  When I was hungry at lunch, you ignored me.  When I was improperly dressed, you looked down upon me.  Depart from me, with no severance pay."

Then, the owner looked upon those on her right and said,

"Thank-you.  when I was in need of assistance in a certain task, you kindly and patiently helped me.  When I was hungry at lunch time, you shared your lunch with me.  When I was in need of some time-off, you gladly covered for me.  And, when I was lacking in proper clothing, you selflessly shared your clothing with me.  You all shall get a raise."

Then, the company went on to become one of the most productive companies in the northern hemisphere.

Adapted from "The Sheep and the Goats"
Matthew 25:33-45

FINDING CHARITY MAY NOT BE THAT EASY

I know you know what charity is.

I'm just saying that it's not easy to do charity.  I know!  I tried!

My son and I wanted to do some charity work in the form of service.  We tried to volunteer at various places, like churches, hospitals, schools, etc.  None of them would accept our applications to do volunteer work.  (I'm being serious!  They wouldn't let us to volunteer work).  I called our local bishop and offered our services (actually talked to him on the phone).  He never called me back.  We tried to do volunteer work at a local school, helping children with their school work (actually talked with the principal), and she never got back to me.  I followed up and we did the background checks and filled out paper work, and she still didn't get back to me.  We tried Primary Children's Hospital.  We filled out applications, and they never got back to us.

  Finally, we found something on the county level.  I don't remember how I found them.  I guess I just called the county and they put me in touch with a department that would accept our desire to do service.  It was the Salt Lake County department of Adult and Aging Services.  They allowed us to do some yard work for people who couldn't do it for themselves.

So, if you, like we, want to do some charity work (without donating money), my advice would be to keep trying.  Eventually you'll find something.

With the intention to help you find something, let me give you some ideas.

Service = Love thy neighbor.

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