Parable of
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Parable of
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| One of my missionary friends tells the story of meeting a
Peruvian woman and her small daughter on a mountain trail. He
gave a bag of candy to the small girl, then watched in amazement as
she automatically gave everyone in the party a piece of candy
before she put a single bite in her own mouth. She was
sharing, before she took of the fruit herself.
How wonderful that where there is so little this small girl gave away a lot. Another good friend of mine, and if you know me you know his name is George, raised his own children and several more besides. That was in his younger days when he had little to spare besides a roof overhead, clothes on their backs and meals in their tummy. He never mentioned that they weren't his real children, never mentioned "what a great guy am I!" and if the truth be known, those kinds of thoughts never crossed his mind for he was always looking for someone else to help. |
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| Greater than George was his wife; she could make a 3-day
fiesta out of a single slice of sardine on a cracker baked super
thin.
The years after their family was raised blessed these two wonderful people and they sponsored dozens of Scout outings and hundreds of youth outings. They had grandchildren of many persuasions and they made huge efforts to get some of them and more of them to form the nucleus of special and expensive family outings. One fatherless family of 7 children that I was working with was swept up in one extravaganza on a lake. It was there I watched George and his wife at work, raising a second generation of children and more besides. Some of those children were natural born revolutionaries and there were more than a few rebels as well in that party. Not one transgression was permitted but there was no show of confrontation, just an explanation of how that child might help everyone have fun. The family I had been working with were integrated so well I could discern no distinction between them and the others. From never having nothing they were suddenly experiencing a world of wealth so few in the world can be exposed to. Even while raising his second generation and adopted families George was central key in helping others in peril, clearing brush, building wheelchair ramps, serving food to the hungry, and saving families from disasters. The hot water heater of another family I was working with blew out, irreparably damaged. George bought the hot water heater and let me deliver it. The family was thanking me over all my protests that I was not their champion, and since I couldn't divulge that George was the Giver I was hard pressed to fend off their thoughts of gratitude. Another lady that I knew was over 80 and quite wealthy even though she too had given away so much throughout her life. Someone said how good she was to give away so much and she responded that back, all the way to high school, was the real hero. There were 9 children in her family and the family was impoverished by most standards. She wanted to go to college, but that was absolutely out of the question. She prayed about it and decided the best course she could pursue was to take a 1 year course in accounting at a business college. Times were bitter hard back then, but one of her 8th grade teachers scraped all his assets together and loaned her $200 to pay her tuition with. She was able to work for her food and clothing and rent and she finished with such high marks that she was offered a job for the dean of that college. This gave her the opportunity of pursuing advanced studies and was soon able to start her own business. Over the years she has given away tens of thousands of dollars many times over, and still there is money left over -- but it all came from the increase of that original $200 loan so she feels to keep right on giving and when she dies, her every resource will be donated to charity. There are several philanthropies endorsed by most of our churches where anonymous donations can provide dramatic help to others. It shouldn't matter if the donor is giving millions, or just a few pennies.. their donations should go exactly and precisely where the givers wish to make an impact. In many churches there is no charge for handling the funds and passing them on. |
| There is a weird perception of charity that has risen
its head over the past 150 years. David Crockett lost
his seat in Congress over the principle and sentenced
himself to live the rest of his life in that northern part
of Mexico known as Texas. The way it happened was that a certain party experienced a sudden downturn in her social and economic status. A good deal of compassion rang in the halls of Congress to do something for her as her husband had been a hero of the first water, and David was swept along in the stream of generosity. Yea, let's give her a good little bit was the decision. Well, David caught the brunted edge of rejection when news came to his home constituency. "If you felt so generous, you should have given her YOUR money, not ours." David pondered that attitude and concluded he had indeed given away money that wasn't his'n. Then his attitude began to change altogether as he studied what was going on in the nation. Before the year was out David made another mistake; he broke away from the heroic president named Jackson and incurred the bloody wrath of his former friends in Congress. He had to make more friends on the other side of the aisle, and they were mighty suspicious. But there came a day when another case came before Congress to help a poor wayfaring soul. Mis-defined charity had swept the floor again when David stood up to speak out against giving away the nation's money. I look around me at all the wealthy men here and it just seems to me that we could take up a collection bigger than the one we are appropriating from our constituents." His voice turned the tide around and the appropriation was denied. However, in winning the point, David lost his seat in Congress. His passel of friends dwindled to a trifle. He was cheered in Boston, but snubbed at home. |
| Here it is almost 200 years later, and this
perverted way of looking at charity now pervades the
entire city of Washington D.C.. Men and women of
mighty stature are honored for their "generosity" simply
because they either rob from the rich and give to the
poor, or rob from the poor and give to the rich,
according to which side of the aisle they are on. Now, I'm not going to tackle how you vote or why, but I do wish you would at least ponder the situation a bit and when you do your alms, take the money out of your own pocket if your conscience moves you that way. I sincerely believe you will be much happier doing your alms that way and that your blessings will melt your heart for gladness. I hope I don't sound as if I am preaching a holier-than now sermon. My sins are enough for any ten men; I have no right to preach to anyone. My eye is simply single to the hope and desire that you too can be sharing the kind of joy that comes from doing alms, and becoming more charitable. If your heart turns to this kind of charity already or in the future then I pray that it always will, and I pray that a bumper crop of blessings overwhelms you for doing so because I firmly believe that the best blessing that comes from giving much is the desire to give more. As charity swells your heart your whole being will become flooded with sunshine, joy and the kind of prosperity you need most. I feel like that little mountain girl in Peru has the best concept of charity of us all, GIVE FIRST, and make do on the rest. If we had been there on that memorable day when the candy was divvied up, isn't that what we would have wished to see happen? And haven't we all been commanded to do unto others as we would have them do unto us? I look around me, and back down the years behind me and I wonder just how much more I personally could have helped, could have done, if I had performed my alms as the little mountain girl in Peru did. If I had given first, and made do on the rest, I wonder if charity would have become a solid, basic part of my life and heart. |
the end
The
author: Lin Stone is one of the not-quite-wealthy authors strewn
by the wayside in the process of elimination on his way to the top of
his profession. As a 4th grade graduate he's done fairly well for
himself and is quite proud of what he did achieve.
There are forty three
free books on this page, including:
Short Stuff,
Tales From the Light Side.
The End, just finished, Explains why Sleeping Beauty
needed a marriage counselor.
Discover these great essays in the following folders
Family
* Inspirational * Helpful
* Social
War
* Freedom * Money
* Superb Essays from 1850
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And then, we have these essays in the GENERAL ESSAYS category which don't seem to fit anywhere in particular: By Reason Alone.. That Roosevelt can do no wrong is Burroughs’s opinion; and that Burroughs is always right is Roosevelt’s opinion. Both are agreed that animals do not reason. They assert that all animals below man are automatons and perform actions only of two sorts—mechanical and reflex—and that in such actions no reasoning enters at all. They believe that man is the only animal capable of reasoning and that ever does reason. *** No man is an island, is an old saying that was meant to say that no man stood alone, but needed help from others, and gave strength to others. But, here is the story of an island that was a man. In the short history of time, there was one island that was a monument to a single man. It starts out like a fairy tale.. Once upon a time there was a barren island. This almost insignificant little man was sent off to this barren island and turned it into a mirror of his soul and the fulfillment of his vision. One stick at a time he turned his barren island into a work of lasting, world-renowned beauty and peace, an island where the nightingales sang songs of singular wonder ne'er found elsewhere since this little man set down roots on a barren island, and bloomed. ** Most of man's dreams are based on false assumptions. We dream of loping free with the wolves, but really don't like fleas. We dream of the security that lambs must feel, but don't want to be sheared. We dream of being lions, but gag at eating raw meat. We dream of being loved, but can't see the way or take the time to make ourselves lovable. Was There EVER A Man On The Moon? How far can reason alone take us from the beaten path of acknowledged history? *** RIGHT CLICK on this one. LIVES ON THE LINE, Americans can be proud of today's soldiers. A Definition Of History by Leo Tolstoy gives us yet another peg to hang our ratiocinations upon. ** ** Charity never faileth, especially when our hearts fill to overflowing with charity. ** Global Warming freezes thermometers ** Man, the Meanie of the Planet. This is a high resolution pdf document so you can print it out and hang it on the wall. Be sure to RIGHT Click the link, and save it to your computer. ** Are we forever Doomed? An essayic poem by Rudyard Kipling * I see Grandpa. He's calling out for me. God Does Not Fit -- by Lance Nalley * SOCIALISM, Slavery and Tyranny by R. J. Harris ** Deliberate Fraud: Evolutionists resort to the lowest forms of fraud in order to gain more believers. ** When Theories fail.. Petty science teachers can rage until doomsday that no two snowflakes are identical, but until every snowflake that has ever fallen or ever shall fall is matched against every other snowflake that has already fallen or ever shall try to fall -- the identical snowflake theory remains just a theory resting in lolly-gagging land.
** A Break From Boredom -- by Lance Nalley ** INVICTUS... Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit, from pole to pole ** The gods and Heroes of the Ancient World ** Staunch, steadfast, loyal and true. What better friend can a man have? *** The House By The Side Of The Road ** Friendship, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. A ruddy drop of manly blood The surging sea outweighs, The world uncertain comes and goes, The lover rooted stays. I fancied he was fled, And, after many a year, Glowed unexhausted kindliness Like daily sunrise there. My careful heart was free again, -- O friend, my bosom said, Through thee alone the sky is arched, Through thee the rose is red, All things through thee take nobler form, And look beyond the earth, And is the mill-round of our fate A sun-path in thy worth. Me too thy nobleness has taught To master my despair; The fountains of my hidden life Are through thy friendship fair. ** *** A thing of beauty
is a joy forever: The Moon on Six Pence Uncle Bob was an unforgettable character who traveled the world on bargain rates and golden smiles! ** The Almost Good Housekeeping monograph is a good excuse for the harried homemaker to put off until tomorrow all those burdens of yesteryear, and quit trying so hard. ** Sex before the Sax: The first thing I learned about Lois was she had a label for being froward. Kids at school said she had had sex with Alfred. Not long after I arrived, another boy came forward to admit he had made a score at her door. ** Old Rattler, and the King Snake. Down and Dirty with Darwin Evolutionists are now feeling so battered that university professors advise their students not to discuss this theory with non-believers. "Sounds like a religious cult to me," say some. Pleasures of the open fire: The Fireplace Revisited. Don't Make Us
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