Christian/Religion Studies

Almsgiving:

(charity - righteousness - kindness- justice -philanthropy) To give alms - a compassionate thing to do. You may hear this in a movie or read it in a book, "Give alms to the poor." This is to "give" for the poor, probably the poor in your area. Almsgiving was once popular and this was  probably due to some believing that if they had wealth then it would be seen well in God's mind if they gave a piece of that wealth to the poor and destitute. Deuteronomy chapter 15, verse 11  For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.  Some may say that giving to the poor is "works" and that Salvation does not come from works but the issue here is that it has always been seen "as Christian to give to the poor and needy." Regardless of race, nation or denomination, giving has always been seen as the thing you do if you are a Christian, especially by non-Christians. Non-Christians are often shocked when Christians refuse to help the poor and needy and only look after their own. No matter what it is called giving to the poor is something that has always been expected of  Christians especially by the example given to us by Christ. He was Holy, kind, generous, nice and good - it was obvious that Christ wanted the best for all people everywhere and Christ wanted all to come to hear the Word of God. Of course the True-Giving is the giving of Salvation as God intended, but the giving of the heart and soul to those less fortunate is a blessing to the receivers. But to give like this should be from the heart, and nobody needs to know who the donator is, except God. That is true giving. Not needing thanks, but giving anyway. Not needing thanks because you gave is humblness and good. We must realise that we are alive, and those we turn to Christ are still having to deal with their lives, and suffering needs to be kept to a minimum if we have the ability to do this for someone. Sitting home and praying is good, but getting out because God created you to help your fellow mankind is truly Gods way. Matthew chapter 6, verse 1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.  It is charitable to give to the needy. Every good act is charity. A man's true wealth is the good he does in this world to his fellows - Mahomet. In comparison to Christians Muslims give a small percentage (surplus wealth) of their annual savings as alms or charity, called zakat. Zakat could be compared to tithing and alms but is based on serving the poor and deprived Muslims. There is a Zatak organisation at: http://zakat.org/ This is their About Us statement on their web site: "Zakat Foundation of America is an international charity organization that helps generous and caring people reach out to those in need. Our goal is to address immediate needs and ensure the self-reliance of the poorest people around the world with Zakat and Sadaqa dollars of privileged Muslims and the support of other generous donors." I know that where the monks were concerned at times in history large amounts of wealth was given to them, this included land and money.  The likes of the St John nights (who were monks) and other monks recieved large amounts of money and land from rich people. Some early Christians believed that all personal ownership of property was wrong and that the 'goods in a Christian society must be common.'   It can be a hard thing for a person to go to the poor and suffering and try to give them spiritual Salvation when the poor and suffering are in desperate need. It is far better to help them deal with that need as Jesus did when He healed people. He dealt with their immediate spiritual and physical suffering, and you would be wise to do the same. As an example alone, helping non-Christians deal with their immediate sufferings and problems will set you alight in their eyes as a person to know and love. Then once the non-Christian has been helped and is more comfortable then he or she can be told of the great Salvation of Our Lord. You will find a more ready ear from somebody you have kindly helped with your generous soul led by God.