Act of Charity

We are called to reflect the presence of Jesus in us by loving others unconditionally - not reacting in kind when we face disagreement or hostility, but responding in love. Romans 12 gives insight into that concept:
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We can consider the path to peace - that doesn't mean that we should compromise our Biblically-consistent values in our human interaction, but we should be grounded in truth and to be able to speak and live that truth in a manner that represents our Lord.  We can develop and maintain charitable hearts, being willing to minister to even people with whom we have disagreement.  In the midst of the devil's division, we can seek to activate the love of Christ.

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Jesus spoke to the topic of Christian charity in Luke 6 as he challenged the hearers of his message to love even those regarded as "enemies." He taught:
25 Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
27 "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 2:
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

The Bible doesn't quite use these words, but I think that we can seek to have a drama-free life.  Often - and I think this has intensified with access to social media - we allow our thoughts and feelings to flow in a steady stream that don't necessarily glorify Christ or edify others. And, if we're not careful, we can give in to the tendency to exaggerate situations and subtly stretch the truth, with an end result of calling more attention to ourselves but not adding to our credibility.

There is more than one member of Congress that certainly would fit some aspects of that description. The House member from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the gold standard for political drama. And, in a recent instance, her bluff was called.

The Washington Examiner reports that Ocasio-Cortez recently, "shared a photo of her grandmother’s home in Puerto Rico, which she said was destroyed by Hurricane Maria.' She tweeted out, "Just over a week ago, my abuela fell ill. I went to Puerto Rico to see her- my 1st time in a year+ bc of COVID. This is her home..." But the report turned quickly into a rant, as the Congresswoman said:

"Hurricane María relief hasn’t arrived. Trump blocked relief $ for PR. People are being forced to flee ancestral homes, & developers are taking them," she said. "We immediately got to work reaching out to community advocates and leaders and following the money. What’s happening to Puerto Ricans is systemic. Much of it can be traced to La Junta, aka the Wall Street-connected fiscal control board that the US gave power to over the island."

How much of that is true is anyone's guess. But, upon hearing of the plight of the grandmother, Daily Wire columnist and professing Christian Matt Walsh came up with an unusual idea - why not help the grandmother out?  So, he organized a GoFundMe campaign which, according to the Examiner, raised in excess of $100,000!  However, Walsh received an e-mail from the GoFundMe Trust & Safety Team. The article says that:

In the email, the company said it had communicated with the "beneficiary's family," who declined the funds. The fundraiser topped $104,153 in less than 12 hours before donations were halted.

Walsh responded by saying, “Tragically this charitable effort has been sabotaged by forces outside of our control. Still I’m grateful for the outpouring of support for abuela, even if AOC isn’t. But questions remain: Why didn’t AOC help her own abuela? Why was our help turned down? We are left to speculate.” He went on to say, “In the end, our campaign raised 100 thousand dollars and could have solved a problem in ten hours that AOC couldn’t solve in four years. We can all be proud of that,” adding, “As for abuela, all we can do now is pray..."

I'm not sure this was true charity or an attempt to bring clarity to hypocrisy.  But, it does offer us a chance to consider how we respond when we receive news of a need.  Oh, by the way, the Daily Mail sent a team to Puerto Rico to follow the grandmother's story.  The article says:

DailyMail.com tracked down 81-year-old Clotilde's home to a quiet community just outside the picturesque coastal city of Arecibo - located 40 miles west from capital San Juan - on the island's beautiful north coast.

And when we politely approached the two-story flat-roofed residence, we were met by a woman who told us emphatically after viewing AOC's tweets: 'I am her aunt. We don't speak for the community.'

The aunt also gave a different political viewpoint than her niece, saying: "It's a problem here in Puerto Rico with the administration and the distribution of help. It is not a problem with Washington. We had the assistance and it didn't get to the people."

Again, one could say that the columnist was attempting to embarrass the Congresswoman, but there is a lesson for us here. If the effort had succeeded, a family member of someone who represents a different ideological or political perspective could have been assisted.  We have to be careful in the Church to not just reach out and help those who are of our theological or ideological camp.  Tribalism can prevent the common work, the hard work, of living out the gospel.  And, our hearts can be open to help those in need, regardless of their political stripe.

The fact is, we are called to minister to the entire world.  We are to love the least and the lost, and when there is lack, we can respond in love to provide physical and spiritual resources in the name of Christ. I came across an example recently of a Georgia church that saw a need in its community and generously set out to address it.  ChristianHeadlines.com reported that...

...Wesley United Methodist Church of Evans delivered the donations to Macedonia Church of Grovetown after the food and funds were collected during Lent.

In a recent interview with The Christian Post, Milledge Austin, communications director at Wesley UMC, explained that the donations included 8,100 pounds of food and $10,456.83.

"At the beginning of the new year, a group of our staff brainstormed ways that our church could have an impact on the local community," Austin told the outlet.

The church recognized that during the summer, families were without breakfasts and lunches provided during the school year by the respective schools.  With that outlet no longer being available, the church stepped in to try to bridge the gap.  

This is yet another example that communicates to us how we can develop charitable hearts, seeking to demonstrate the love of Christ and interact with the people around us.