In the process of discussing Christian behavior in Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis made it a point to cover the Seven Virtues. He dealt the with four “Cardinal virtues” in an earlier chapter, and he now turns his attention to the three “Theological virtues” for the rest of Book Three. In this chapter he deals with charity—basically, giving to the poor. But it is more than just giving to the poor. Christian Charity is essentially love, but not in the emotional, over-romanticized way we in the modern world have made it out to be.
As Lewis says, Christian Charity, or Love, is fundamentally an act of the will. Therefore, when the Bible tells us we are to “love our neighbor,” it does not mean that God expects us to think our neighbor is super-cool, and it doesn’t mean we have to conjure up good feelings to others, particularly the ones we just honestly don’t like. What it means is that we are to treat others and care for them just as we would hope others would treat and care for us, especially if we were in need.
That is what “charity” is often associated with giving to the poor—it is a result of the Christian concept of love: treating others the way you would want to be treated.
The interesting thing about Christian charity, as Lewis points out, is that although it might begin from a strict choice of the will, without any emotion or sentimentality involved, the fact is once you are kind to somebody, once you extend charity toward somebody you might not particularly like, or extend charity toward someone just because it’s the right thing to do—you will find yourself, nine times out of ten, liking that person a little more. The same is true going the other direction: withhold a helping hand from someone, and you find yourself not liking that person a little more.
That’s odd how that is, isn’t it? As Lewis says, “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.”
Not to get too political, but…
I think it’s easy to make charity into a political football, where we determine who is and who is not charitable based on the political party they support or whether or not they back certain government welfare programs. I don’t think we should do that. Here’s why…
One of the signs of a Christ-like society is whether or not the people have agreed to set up formal charitable organizations and welfare programs for those of society who are in dire need. For all the problems America has, we should all be proud of the fact that we put a priority on this—yes, both Democrats and Republicans alike. Debates over how much the federal and state governments should provide for certain programs will always go on because the economic situation in our society will always fluctuate. But they are invaluable to those who are in need. I should know…I’m getting help this year.
Because welfare programs are part of a larger budget, the government has to be responsible the way it handles the money that goes to welfare programs—sometimes cuts or adjustments will be needed, sometimes things will need to be expanded. That doesn’t mean one party is completely Christ-like and the other one wants to push old ladies off a cliff. When politicians and political groups start going down that road, you should be suspicious of their motivations…chances are they’re just trying to get your vote.
In any case, when it comes to Christian charity, my point is this: don’t get side-tracked into political arguments and think you’re advocating for charity because you’re shouting the other side down. When it comes to Christian charity, there’s only one place to look: in the mirror. With the money you earn, with the resources you’ve been fortunate to have, how much of it do you use to help others? Not just how much do you write down on a check, or how much you put in the offering plate. How much do you personally use to help others on a personal level?
Don’t get me wrong: it’s great to write checks to charitable organizations and give money to churches. Obviously that’s wonderful. But given what Lewis said about how charity increases at compound interest, I think God wants us to extend charity ourselves to other people, one on one. When we do that, it becomes more than just a matter of giving money. It becomes a matter of giving of ourselves to other people, and seeing love grow.
I’ll be honest, I could do better at charity. I know I’ve been fortunate to have people extend charity to me in my times of need. It’s a simple thing really. It’s an act of the will. Make it a point to go out in the next week and do a tangible charitable thing for someone in need. Lewis says that what you get back in return will be infinitely more valuable.
