Charity Comes From the Heart

Hey,

So most of you have probably heard of the website ask.fm where you can be asked questions, right? Despite the fact that I don't really use those sites, my friend Demi (check out her blog, it's awesome!) used it a lot on Twitter and I fancied having a go because I was bored. I had the usual questions, some weird ones and some perverted ones. Then I recieved this: "Why do you do charity work? Just be selfish! Make the bastards look after themselves."

My reply? 

"I'm appalled by this. I do it because there are people in this world who physically can't look after themselves and because I have abilities to get off my backside, walk, talk, listen and all that, I can do something on their behalf. I can't physically go and look after people, but I can help raise the funds for professionals. I don't want to be selfish. It also makes me feel good and forget the problems in my life because people are terminally ill or sleeping rough."

How disgusting is this? I mean, if you don't want to do charity work, then fair enough, but telling others to be selfish and "make the bastards look after themselves" is horrible! Don't they know the meaning of the term "charity"? In case anyone else doesn't or just to remind people, here is the Wikipedia definition for it:

The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.
Charitable giving is the act of giving money, goods or time to the unfortunate, either directly or by means of a charitable trust or other worthy cause. Charitable giving as a religious act or duty is referred to as alms giving or alms. The name stems from the most obvious expression of the virtue of charity is giving the objects of it the means they need to survive.
The poor, particularly widows and orphans, and the sick and disabled, are generally regarded as the proper objects of charity. Some groups regard charity as being properly directed toward other members of their group. Although giving to those nearly connected to oneself is sometimes called charity—as in the saying "Charity begins at home" -- normally charity denotes giving to those not related, with filial piety and like terms for supporting one's family and friends. Indeed, treating those related to the giver as if they were strangers in need of charity has led to the figure of speech "as cold as charity" -- providing for one's relatives as if they were strangers, without affection.

There's a lot more under the definition, but I feel this is enough for you here. 

In the definition, it states "The poor, particularly widows and orphans, and the sick and disabled, are generally regarded as the proper objects of charity." 

Look at the words I have highlighted. This is what each word means, for those who don't know:

Sick: (See illness) Illness (sometimes referred to as ill-health or ailment) is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist. Some have described illness as the subjective perception by a patient of an objectively defined disease.

Widows: A widow is a woman whose spouse or significant other has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse or significant other has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed. The treatment of widows around the world varies, but unequal benefits and treatment generally received by widows versus widowers globally has spurred an interest in the issue by human rights activists.

Orphan: An orphan (from the Greek ὀρφανός^[1]) is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents.^[2][3] In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usually relevant. If she has gone, the offspring is an orphan, regardless of the fathers condition.^[4] Adults can also be referred to as orphans, or "adult orphans".

Poor:  an adjective related to a state of poverty, low quality or pity.

Disabled: A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these. A disability may be present from birth, or occur during a person's lifetime.

All of the above means that a person being one (or more) of the above mean they need help. Their lives have  been disrupted from "the norm" by either physical issues or pain from loss. They need help. 

Charity is one of the lessons we can give ourselves in humanity. To be on the receiving end of charity is also an amazing experience, to know that there are people who do not look down on you and want to help. In my opinion, Charity is one of the core parts of any community because it is the link between all sorts of "cliques"  and recognizing them as being of equal value as human beings. Without charity you can not have a proper community because everyone is only looking to benefit themselves.

There's so much more I could say about charity, but you should find out for yourself and take part in it. If you ever think it is stupid, that's your opinion, but before you decide that's your opinion, open your eyes and heart and understand what it is and why people do it.

So yeah....