Daily Thought for Tuesday, November 15th

November 15, 2011

Be Charitable

Today’s Thought:

“I don’t want you to give me your surplus.  I want you to give with personal deprivation.” – Mother Teresa

Today’s Quote:

“The highest exercise of charity is charity towards the uncharitable.” – J. S. Buckminster

Today’s Question:

When contemplating charity have you ever considered this; “He who waits to do a great deal of good at once, will never do anything?” – Samuel Johnson

Today’s Bible Verses:         Proverbs 19:17, Acts 20:35  & 2 Peter 1:5-7

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord;…

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Today’s Spiritual Thought:

“As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled.” – Victor Hugo

Most of us consider being charitable as being willing to give something to someone in need.

Often our acts of charity are not much more than an act of conscious soothing with minimal sacrifice or inconvenience on our part.  But as Christians this should not be so.

Charity is more than giving a shirt, a coat, a ride to an appointment or even a meal – charity from a spiritual perspective is the giving of love.

The word ‘charity’ often stands in for the word ‘love’ in scriptures.  For example: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” – The Bible (1 Corinthians 13:13)

True charity is the giving of a part of our self, which often can require a sacrifice.

Consider the greatest benefactor of charitable kindness the next time you are in a situation when charity is called for.  Remember Jesus?  He gave His life and faces separation from His Father, so that He could bare our sins and offered himself as our supreme sacrifice.

In light of such a grand gesture of charity on His part – is any charitable act we perform not only warranted – but also inasmuch as we are to emulate Him – is it not needful, necessary and reasonable?

Today’s Prayer:

Father, help me to be a more giving person, not only of things; but also of myself.

“With malice toward none; with charity for all.”

- Abraham Lincoln