What really is charity?

The following excerpts come from Amber Van Schooneveld's book, Hope Lives. It is an excellent resource in seeking discernment in how to step into the lives of the "least of these." I highly recommend this resource if you wonder how you can possibly address the suffering that is taking place in our world.

Sometimes I allow myself to be broken. Other times I don’t. And in the times I don’t, I turn to my two good old friends to cope with my confused heart: guilt and charity. I know I ought to be doing something and caring, and I’m filled with guilt. Guilt is a great motivator . . . in the short run. I quickly whip out my checkbook, write a check to the first organization that seems reputable, and wipe my brow. Whew. That’s better. Guilt salved; charity fulfilled.

Maybe I’m guilty for some ills in the world, maybe not. But I don’t think God wants my guilty spirit. I think he wants my repentance, my love. He wants to soothe me with his grace. Grace and love transform, like it did my friend. He started with guilt, but God changed him with love. God transformed him through the Holy Spirit. His heart is broken for this world because of the love of Christ. He loves others because Christ loves him. That is lasting. That is how I want to be.

My charity is less true charity than occasional pity. Giving to “charity,” I think of how I’m being oh-so-good. A gold star on my Christian report card. Extra credit. At the end of each term, when report cards are about to be turned in, I write that check and check of my charity box. I move on, oh-so-benevolent, with a clean conscience.

I think I’ve done something above and beyond my call of duty. I haven’t. I’m commanded to help the poor again and again in Scripture. . . Helping the poor isn’t undeserved charity. It’s justice. Bono put it well: “This is not about charity in the end, is it? It’s about justice . . . I just want to repeat that: This is not about charity, it’s about justice.”

I think I’m learning that God’s justice, what God commands, is that each of his people would have enough bread to live on day by day and be given enough dignity to thrive. It is God’s justice that he has commanded me to give. Not charity. An occasional guilt or benevolence offering isn’t what God wants from me. True charity is love. True charity is mercy. And it’s not extra credit, not an addendum to my faith. As Christians, it’s who we are; it’s our essence.
(34-35)