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Erring on the Side of Compassion
Tough question. Tough, because I find myself conflicted.
Sure, the textbook answer is easy. Jesus Christ told us to care for the needy. He even reinforced it with a powerful parable that has become a classic in all scripture. A Samaritan traveler, his race disliked and his religion labeled as apostate by the Judaism of the day, helps a man he finds beaten and dying on an isolated desert road. He puts his own life at risk by doing so. He takes the wounded man to safety, puts him up in an inn and pays the bill in advance.
Impressive. No second guessing as to the man's irresponsibility in traveling a dangerous road alone. No probing questions about his ability to pay back. Just help. Pure, simple, unconditional.
Fast forward 2,000 years. Each day in the mail, like you, I receive the usual share of charitable solicitations. Almost all are worthy causes. Like you, I have to make decisions. Do I write a check for this one, and throw that one away? If I can't respond to all, how do I choose between supporting paralyzed war veterans and providing help for an impoverished family in Bolivia? (My wife, the ultimate soft touch, has no such qualms -- she writes a check for everyone, as I invariably discover when balancing our accounts).
Again, probably like you, we've settled over the years to regularly supporting a few "favorite" charities in addition to responding to some random requests. We prefer to target institutions that encourage work, thrift and responsibility. So we've long supported groups that provide for children living below the poverty line in developing countries so they can grow up to be responsible adults. A little really does go a long way, since many of us earn in an hour what could feed or clothe such a family for a month. One recent Christmas, instead of gifts for our adult kids, we provided goats, pigs and chickens to families in Africa, because helping them support themselves doesn't feel like a handout that encourages idleness.
For me, that's the challenge. I don't want my compassion for someone to be dictated by their IQ or whether they made dumb decisions. Any of us can find ourselves without a job and facing unexpected hardships. But I don't want to subsidize habitual irresponsibility, either.
One way my family avoids this, like Mormons everywhere, is by skipping two successive meals on the first Sunday of each month and turning over the money we would have spent to the local bishop (congregational leader), who dispenses it to the needy. The bishop has complete discretion how he uses those funds. I have no say in it, but I know the guidelines under which he operates. He may provide food. He may even pay a rent or an electricity bill. But he doesn't hand over cash. Where a receiving breadwinner is able, he will be expected to render some service or undertake some work to reinforce his own feelings of self-worth. Moreover, the assistance is always temporary, and it's given by a Church leader who knows the family well. It isn't a quick fix for the idle.
I have other opportunities, too. I can donate to my Church's humanitarian fund, in which 100% of donations -- yes, 100% -- gets to the target of need, and where I know that the underlying principle will be to promote self-reliance.
So why am I conflicted? Because we can always do more. Certainly, my first responsibility is to provide for myself and my family. But despite all that, we all come across people with a hand out who might simply be preying on another's generosity.
A while back, I pulled into a gas station, and while refueling my car was approached by a young man, poorly dressed, who told a story about having to get to Idaho to see his dying mother, and could I please spare five bucks for gas? I handed over the five bucks, despite an almost certain knowledge that I was being conned. Why? Because I'd rather err on the side of compassion. If he was lying, shame on him. If I refused to help, shame on me.
In reality, no amount of giving can be enough. Sometimes when we sit down to our evening meal and well-spread table, as we bow our heads to say a prayer over the food, my mind goes to those families in Bolivia and Africa, or to a homeless man I've seen in the street. I may not get it right every time. I may sometimes give a donation to one cause and ignore a more deserving one. But I feel a lot better about subsidizing people like this than I do about subsidizing the excesses of Wall Street.
By
Michael Otterson
|
March 5, 2009; 5:30 AM ET
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Posted by: CCNL | March 8, 2009 12:08 AM
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CCNL, I think you have gotten worse while I was gone. Contrary to what you may think, it is not your responsibility to make fun of the religious views of contributors with whom you disagree.
It is very easy to extrapolate the Mormon charitable practices that Otterson cites to organizations that we each have in our own faith communities -- even Concerned's community of the faithless. Fact is, Otterson's style of giving would work well in any community.
If more Americans would each take their individual responsibility for making the world a better place as seriously as the writers on this site do, then some of the problems we're talking about might never have arisen.
Posted by: ViejitaDelOeste | March 7, 2009 5:16 PM
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And when we awake, Mormonism will still be a business cult using religion as a front. OK now we can go back to sleep!!
Posted by: CCNL | March 6, 2009 8:00 PM
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*Snore*
Posted by: Eichendorff | March 6, 2009 4:39 PM
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And then there are Volkmare and Eichendorff, two members of the LDS with a significant Three B Syndrome, i.e. they were Born, Bred and Brainwashed in hallucination-based Mormonism and sleeping is unfortunately no cure.
Posted by: CCNL | March 6, 2009 4:05 PM
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CCNL
Based upon your own statement, just go to any LDS ward, and you will then believe.
Unless you are "chicken"...
(buck, buck, buckack!)
Mark
Always seek the truth.
Posted by: volkmare | March 6, 2009 2:27 PM
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"ZZZZZZZZ" (2)
Mark
Always seek the truth.
Posted by: volkmare | March 6, 2009 2:22 PM
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*ZZZZZZZZ*
Posted by: Eichendorff | March 6, 2009 10:52 AM
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It is so sad that Joe Smith went into a stupor in which he hallucinated about his "angelic" Moroni and unfortunately remembered said hallucinations. Had he only slept through it all!!!
Posted by: CCNL | March 6, 2009 9:41 AM
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Another post from CCNL, another reason to yawn.
Posted by: Eichendorff | March 6, 2009 8:51 AM
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When we see Mormon money being used just for those in need and not for cattle ranches, canneries, insurance companies, ornate temples, huge choirs and football teams, we will believe!!!
In the meantime, the hallucination-based Mormon "faith" is simply a business cult fronting as a religion!!!
Posted by: CCNL | March 5, 2009 11:25 PM
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Well said, Brother Otterson.
As a ward clerk, I have seen a lot of what you have said happen first hand, and for anyone in need, not just LDS members.
Mark
Always seek the truth.
Posted by: volkmare | March 4, 2009 2:35 PM
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Some Christians, Mormans and Muslims have beat their chests on this topic about how charitable they are. In reality, the USA taxpayer far exceeds their support of country and global needs. e.g. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security to include SSI, Unemployment Benefits, Grants to States, Bailouts, Foreign Aid, Homeland Security, Global Security, Low Cost Student Loans, Medical Research Grants, No Child Left Behind Programs and Faith-based Intiatives.
www.bls.gov/emp/empmacro08.htm
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/omb/budget/fy2008/hist.html