How Charitable is Charity?

I go to Watoto church, lovely church if you ask me. In case anyone’s looking for a church, or is into going to different churches. Although does anyone ever say anything bad about their church? That has to be a sure way to get a ticket to hell? Does anyone else think that ‘one way ticket to hell’ phrase is stupid? As opposed to what?

Anyway, next month we have the “My Miracle Offering’, which is an annual sacrificial offering (beyond your regular tithe and offering). Like offertory, there is no formula to My Miracle Offering, you give whatever the Lord places on your heart. The money collected from My Miracle Offering goes to meeting critical needs, as well as supporting God’s work among other churches. The goal this year is to raise 1.5 million US dollars, which will go to Children’s Church Lubowa, Church plant in Japan, Israel, relief for the refugee crisis in the Middle East and a new Watoto Celebration point.

And that’s great stuff, the church is doing great stuff.

I have been attending 40/40 events, and contributing whenever and however I can over the past few years. A number of people that I know also do the same.

Every time I contribute my time or money or both for charity, I trust the process. I trust the organization took time to decide who gets help and so I also do my part. But I feel that is there is something amiss with how I contribute to helping other people.

Does it ever to seem like a situation has to meet a certain standard of dire before it meets the criteria of getting charity? Like you have to be extremely poor or without parents or with HIV/AIDS or cancer or suffering a war? Have you ever seen a save someone hashtag and thought, I could use some saving too but you can’t say anything because you are not suffering from a deadly disease?

How many people do you know in your life that go to bed without supper, or can barely pay their rent? But since they have a house and parents and are in good health, they don’t quite meet the criteria of getting help. Granted some people might be too proud to accept help or consider it begging which is frowned upon or it might become an impossible situation to help everyone who needs help but I think there is something that can be done. At least that should be done. It would also help if you talk to someone when you need help, because everyone has their own cross to bear.

For the record, I am not saying that the existing organizations are doing something wrong. I don’t think there is a wrong way to give. I am simply raising the needs of those that might look like they are not doing so badly off because that could be the beginning of their end. There has been a lot of awareness about mental health, and sometimes a seemingly okay person is going through a lot. I read some of the stories shared about mental health, and the people are not prime suspects if there is such a thing. Sometimes people don’t have to have suffered a majorly, it can be a small problem that occurs long enough for it to become big,

Does anyone have ideas on how to help people with problems that might not be big enough to get help from organizations, but are big in that person’s life?

Remember to be your brother’s keeper – help whenever you can, however you can. It might be only 100K to you but it would mean a lot to 500K twitter. And ask for help, you are the one that needs it after all.

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