Charity part 3
Charity is love in action. And I think that's a big part of why people are so hesitant to accept it. "I don't want your charity!" How many times have we heard that? I think it stems from being prideful--which, as we know, according to Proverbs 16:18, isn't great. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Which is why I've long said, "Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. It is a sign of wisdom." Because, the truth of the matter is, we all need help. No man is an island. It is not good that man should be alone. We're all in this together. We need each other. Things work out better when we work together. Teamwork makes the dream work. All of that stuff. So we don't need to get down on ourselves for needing what we need. Denying that we need it and trying to plow on without it does more harm than good. Every time. In the same way that we are to see a need in someone else and meet it if at all possible... we need to be real about what WE need. We need to stop thinking we can do it all on our own. And, listen, I've preached and Ranted many times about being self-sufficient. About how we DO have everything we need... because we have God. I have no lack because my God has no lack. And because we have each other. There are things that I can't do that you can. And there are things that I can do that you can't. So only when we understand that we all, collectively, are one many-membered body... can we get done what needs to get done. I do my part and you do your part. I do my part and I LET you do your part. That's what it comes down to: Not being prideful. Admitting that I need help is one of the best ways to get it. My dad taught me a long, long time ago, "If you don't ask, they can't say yes." So don't be prideful. You need help. We all do. You need charity. Get over it. And then there's the other reason: We don't feel like we deserve it. We feel like we're a bother, or a pest. Like we're not worth putting someone out in any way, shape, or form. "I don't want to ask for help (even though I desperately need it) because I don't want to bother anybody." That can be just as harmful. Both to you, and to them. Because, watch this: "...remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). When you don't ask for help, you're denying people the opportunity to help you. And helping people is important. I can think of the times I've needed help very clearly. Because I was in a bad spot. That sticks with you. But I can also think of the times I've helped someone very clearly. Because those instances of being able to be there for someone when THEY need help... that's so powerful. That, in fact, in large part, is what we were created to do. That is what allows us to fulfil our potential. To really give what we've been given. Freely we have been given, freely we can give. Knowing and believing that God can, and will, and has, helped us... equips and empowers us to help each other. His charity--love in action, dying on the cross--is what He gave us. Which means that is what we have. Which means that is what we can give each other. And that, friends, is the whole point of the whole thing. So don't look at charity as something bad when you need it. Look at it as something to give once you've got it!