Charity or Justice or Both?

I love the intentional charitable choices Les and I make at Christmas. We give coats to a clothing closet so someone will have a warmer Christmas. We buy gifts for someone we know in need. We put together shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. And because of my parents' Salvation Army background, I have trouble passing a kettle without dropping a little something inside. This year we added the alternative gifts for the family.

Giving to others in need reminds me of the real reason behind Christmas: Jesus came because we needed him. He gives to us and so, in his honor, we give to others.

Two articles in the latest PRISM magazine—the magazine published by Evangelicals for Social Action—reminded me, though, that giving isn't the only reason Jesus came. An arresting phrase turned up in the first article and then was the title (and subject) of the second: Charity is not justice.

Justice involves using the power you have to provide fair treatment for others, especially the most vulnerable. When Jesus announced his own mission in the synagogue, he used a passage from Isaiah that says:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me 

to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners 

and recovery of sight for the blind, 

to set the oppressed free, 

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

There are both acts of charity (giving sight to the blind) and of justice (freedom for the prisoners, setting the oppressed free) spoken of in those verses. When God, through Micah told the people what true religion was he said it was "to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." To truly follow God, I cannot just "do charity." I must also "act justly."

I always say that I want the spirit of Christmas to be evident in my life all year long, and so I try to ensure that I continue to do acts of charity. But how committed am I to acting justly? And to doing my part to require those holding the reins of power—governments or corporations—to act justly?

That's harder, and to be honest, it doesn't usually supply the warm, fuzzy feeling that my charitable giving does. It often means slogging along for the long haul. It might mean writing e-mails or letters, making phone calls, choosing inconvenient shopping options, recruiting others to do the same. It can take years of work (think about the calls to end apartheid). I may never meet the "recipient" of my act of justice; they may never even know that anyone acted on their behalf. But it is still the will of God for me.

So I'm thinking. How will I "act justly" this year? What will I commit to? I can sign petitions through change.org or send an e-mail through bread.org when an important vote is on the table. Will I take the second step to make a phone call to a politician to make my voice heard? Will I use the power I do have—my money—and write a corporation and then choose not to buy their product or shop at their store when I hear of unjust practices, not just for a week or two until it gets inconvenient, but until they change? Will I regularly pray for justice to become the norm and listen to God's voice telling me where I need to work to implement it?

I hope I will consciously choose to support justice, to remember that charity is not justice, and that God desires both. How will you join me in the quest for justice in 2011?

Gifts That Give Hope

This year the adults in our family are giving alternative gifts for Christmas. To make it more meaningful, we are choosing a charitable gift that somehow represents the person the gift honors. It’s been fun trying to figure out what to give that says, “I understand what matters to you.”


And sometimes it's just frustrating. I chose one gift for a certain relative (no specifics since some of the family occasionally check out this blog) that seemed perfect. I couldn't figure out how to make the targeted donation I wanted on the website, so I called the charity. I explained what I wanted. The pleasant young woman who answered said she would figure out how to designate the specific project; however, in order to make such a donation, the minimum amount was almost twice what I had planned to give. Since it was a charity donation (not just some overpriced knickknack), I decided to bite the bullet and make the donation. 


Relieved I went to run some errands. When I returned home, there was a message from the charity chick, asking me to call her back. Of course, by the time I was able to do so, she wasn't there. I got another lovely representative of the charity. She read the first's notations and explained that I could only donate to the project, not a specific person. I assured her that was fine. She promised to process it and send a gift card I could give.


A few minutes later the phone rang again. It was the lovely woman, who had now talked personally to the charity chick. Apparently unless I was a monthly supporter, I could not donate to a specific project in a specific country. Of course, if I was a corporation doing a major gift (say, a minimum of $1500) they would have found some way to process it (yes, they told me this). Needless to say, that wasn't happening. I could donate to a generic pool that would go to some project similar to the one I wanted, somewhere in the world. It was possible it might even go to the project I wanted. Frustrated now, and realizing I could make that donation online in the original amount, I told her I would make a decision and take care of it online if I decided to go for it.


All that frustration and no further toward the gift. ARGHH!


Do you want to give a meaningful gift with no frustration? Back in September, I had Jennifer Knepper guest blog about the Gifts That Give Hope Alternative Gift Fair. Even though the one-day fair is over, you can order online through December 17. You can easily and simply choose one of 90 gifts in support of one of 30 organizations. Your gift will give hope for years to come. (And you won't be frustrated at all!)

A Little Child Shall Lead Them (to Compassion)

We opened our Christmas presents from Joy while we were together in Williamsburg at Thanksgiving. Both Les and Ashlee got flannel jammy pants (I already had some). Earlier this week I bought us all new slippers with my $10 coupons for a couple of stores. It's been so cold here this week, we've all changed into cozy pants and slippers as soon as possible each evening.

When I am cozy, I love curling up with a book. (It's why I don't have an e-reader yet; it doesn't seem curl-up-able.) Books make me forget the cold. They take me off to another world, transporting me to someplace fun, warm or at least interesting. I get to live someone else's life for a few hours. And I learn so much. (I'll never forget learning from one of Gilbert Morris's fiction books that West Virginia came into being during the Civil War, when the western counties of Virginia refused to secede from the Union.)

Alyssa Deraco knows what I'm talking about. A 12-year-old who loves to read, she feels books can help us forget our troubles and she wanted to share that experience with others. So she started Alyssa's Bedtime Stories, to collect kids' books, uses and new, to donate to kids living in shelters who could use something to help them forget how difficult life can be. Worried that they have no "cozy pants," she decided to bundle the books with a pair of pajamas.

She and a few friends choose the pjs and appropriate books for each child, wrap the presents, handwrite the personalized cards, and deliver the gifts so they can meet the recipients. This year their handing out 124 pairs of pjs and over 300 books. Want to know more? Read the newspaper article about Alyssa.  Donations are always appreciated, whether of books or pjs or money to buy them.

Or you could just allow Alyssa to lead you toward your own unique service. What makes you cozy? What helps you relax and forget your troubles? Maybe it's a hot cocoa and a family game night. Can you invite another family or a widow over to join you? (Don't forget to tell them to bring their slippers.) Maybe it's soothing music or a warm bath. No, don't invite someone over for a bath. But you could put together a gift basket with bath salts or bubble bath, a CD and a beverage for a single mom and give it with a voucher offering to take her kids out for a few hours so she can indulge.

The point is to share with someone in need something that nourishes you. What will it be?