How Generous Are You?

[JamesR]

Answer honestly, how generous do you believe that you are with your money? Do you give your money to charity, specific causes/people and/or your Church? If so, how much do you give and are you happy with it? The reason I ask is because I have been reading St. John Chrysostom's homilies lately where the good Saint constantly urges people to give charitably to the poor, and it led to my own self-examination.

I try to be as generous as possible with my money. I believe that poverty is the worst evil in the world and that every other act of wickedness is rooted in poverty. People steal things because of their poverty, they commit rape because the sexual pleasure alleviates their pain from the poverty, people develop addictions because of their poverty that causes them so much anguish. People die because they get involved in crime, violent drug dealings and/or other dangerous activities precisely because of their poverty. I know this first hand, and nothing saddens my heart more than when I see a poor person, especially another poor Mexican. I make about $200 a month, and of that I usually donate $50-$80 of it to either my Church, random homeless people I see in front of stores and/or to my jar of $370 which I plan to donate to a good cause at the end of the year.

How much are we supposed to give? And how are we supposed to give it? Is it more important to give my money to my Church or to the poor? I have noticed an odd paradox when it comes to money and donations. I've noticed that the more money I donate, the more money I somehow end up receiving from God in the long run. For example, one time I donated $10 even though I really needed it, and the very next day, God unexpectedly blessed me with $20. Yet, when I make more money, I find that it becomes harder to be charitable and give, because the greed factor becomes stronger within me when I have more money. This is why I usually try to make my donations right when I receive my money, before the greed factor comes in and starts to tempt me.

[Alpo]

People ... commit rape because the sexual pleasure alleviates their pain from the poverty

[celticfan1888]

People ... commit rape because the sexual pleasure alleviates their pain from the poverty

My thoughts exactly.

[katherineofdixie]

Answer honestly, how generous do you believe that you are with your money? Do you give your money to charity, specific causes/people and/or your Church? If so, how much do you give and are you happy with it? The reason I ask is because I have been reading St. John Chrysostom's homilies lately where the good Saint constantly urges people to give charitably to the poor, and it led to my own self-examination.

I try to be as generous as possible with my money. I believe that poverty is the worst evil in the world and that every other act of wickedness is rooted in poverty. People steal things because of their poverty, they commit rape because the sexual pleasure alleviates their pain from the poverty, people develop addictions because of their poverty that causes them so much anguish. People die because they get involved in crime, violent drug dealings and/or other dangerous activities precisely because of their poverty. I know this first hand, and nothing saddens my heart more than when I see a poor person, especially another poor Mexican. I make about $200 a month, and of that I usually donate $50-$80 of it to either my Church, random homeless people I see in front of stores and/or to my jar of $370 which I plan to donate to a good cause at the end of the year.

How much are we supposed to give? And how are we supposed to give it? Is it more important to give my money to my Church or to the poor? I have noticed an odd paradox when it comes to money and donations. I've noticed that the more money I donate, the more money I somehow end up receiving from God in the long run. For example, one time I donated $10 even though I really needed it, and the very next day, God unexpectedly blessed me with $20. Yet, when I make more money, I find that it becomes harder to be charitable and give, because the greed factor becomes stronger within me when I have more money. This is why I usually try to make my donations right when I receive my money, before the greed factor comes in and starts to tempt me.

I do give to my Church and to other organizations, but I never feel that it is enough.

While poverty is a sad and unfortunate thing, your conclusions are not necessarily true. There are many people who are poor who don't commit crimes.

[primuspilus]

I believe that poverty is the worst evil in the world and that every other act of wickedness is rooted in poverty. People steal things because of their poverty, they commit rape because the sexual pleasure alleviates their pain from the poverty, people develop addictions because of their poverty that causes them so much anguish. People die because they get involved in crime, violent drug dealings and/or other dangerous activities precisely because of their poverty

[Papist]

Not generous enough. And I won't ever be generous enough until, God willingl, I reach heaven.

[yeshuaisiam]

I admit it, I am not giving enough with money.  I am pretty stingy in some cases even.  My sin lives with me, and through God and repentance, I hope to get past this.

[Føroyingar]

I don't think telling others about your generosity is good.

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