Charity

Charity to the poor and the needy is a traditional virtue encouraged by all religions. Our relationship to the Highest Good creates a natural bond of family among all members of the community, rich and poor. We can experience God’s love and compassion for all his children, and especially for those who suffer from poverty, disease, war, famine and natural disasters. Giving alms and charity is a concrete expression of this spiritual bond of love. Texts such as the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats from the New Testament liken helping a poor man to giving offerings to God or the highest saints. Charity is not excused even for the poorest giver, according to several texts.

Some passages describe the attitude one should take in giving charity. The dignity of the transaction should be upheld by all means. “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” describes the value of anonymity for both the donor and the recipient: for the donor to eliminate any occasion for boasting and for the recipient to preserve his dignity. An even higher form of charity, according to Maimonides, is to extend interest-free loans and other forms of aid to help the poor man get started in a business or trade and thus earn his own living. In a modern version of the adage, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime,” Father Moon has been developing oceanic fishing enterprises with the intent to help the people of Africa become self-sufficient in food.