Friday, June 29, 2007 at 1:01am
Love is more than generosity
Column: God Said What?
$295 billion. That's a lot of money.
And that's the amount that we Americans gave to charity last year. According to the Giving USA Foundation, it's a record number and is almost $12 billion more than we gave in 2005. To put it in perspective, $295 billion is more than the individual gross domestic products of Denmark, South Africa and Ireland, who, according to the International Monetary Fund, have the 28th, 29th and 30th largest GDPs in the world.
Lest you think that this was all done by the super-rich, the Giving USA Foundation noted otherwise. It was the individual contributions of average Americans that accounted for $223 billion of this record number.
Again, that's a lot of money. It speaks volumes about the culture of generosity in the United States. Yet something else occurs to me as I think about this. At least theologically. And that is, that mere generosity doesn't equal love of neighbor.
Don't get me wrong, almost $300 billion in charitable giving is an amazing feat. It's something to be proud of. And our society is a better place because of it. My point is merely that God looks at these things differently.
My criticism here should be understood in the same vein as a football coach who demands more from his team after a big win. He does this so the team doesn't get arrogant and end up losing the rest of the season.
In that light, I think that our abundant giving should be seen through the eyes of Christ. And through Christ's eyes, mere generosity out of abundance is not the same as love of neighbor.
A passage from Scripture that illustrates this is found in Luke 10:25-37. This is the famous episode of the Good Samaritan. It begins when Jesus has been challenged by a scholar of the law about what to do to inherit eternal life. In response, they both agree that one should love God and love your neighbor.
The scholar then pushes the issue and asks, "'And who is my neighbor?'" Then Jesus proceeds to tell a story. A man is victimized by bandits on the highway and is left for dead. Two religious officials pass by and cannot be bothered. Then, a Samaritan, a member of a marginalized and despised people during that time, comes down the highway. He sees the man, tends to his wounds and then provides for the man's lodging, meals and recovery.
After telling the story, Jesus asks the scholar, "'which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?'" The scholar answers, "'The one who treated him with mercy.'" And Jesus concludes by saying, "'Go and do likewise.'"
This story shows that love is costly. It's not easy and it's not convenient. True love of neighbor is different from mere generosity, because it arises out of whatever it is we actually live on. This type of love is deciding that another person's life and well-being are more important than our own present needs and comforts. Thus, Jesus shows that we are called to love those who impose on us. That is, those who have been victimized and are in need of God's love and healing. They are the ones who have a moral claim on us and our resources.
The crux here is that we don't get to choose who is a neighbor for us to love. God has already done this. And God has pointed toward the victims of the many ills and evils of the world who are in need of healing. Our call, then, is to make God's love manifest for them. And we do this through addressing the causes of suffering and lovingly working to take care of our fellow human beings and building family and community. As we take care of each other, especially the stranger, the poor, and the victims, we as a community are worshiping the Living God of Jesus Christ. This is working to create shalom in the world.
Now $295 billion worth of charitable giving is a good thing. And as a society we should be proud that we have fostered such a generous culture. Because our surplus that we choose to redistribute is the cause of much good in our world. And it puts us on the path to love our neighbor with our own selves, not just with our money.
But we must remember that there is a difference between mere generosity and love of neighbor. Sometimes they overlap, but often they don't. As Jesus shows us in Luke's gospel, generosity is from excess whereas love is self-sacrificial. We choose to be generous, but we are called to love those who impose on us in their need. You see, we have to give up something that is dear to us in order to truly love our neighbor. We have to extend a portion of our own God-given lives to them. This is the model of the cross. This is what opens us up to God working in our lives.
And this is what really changes the world. When we realize that generosity in giving money is expected of us as Christians but that love of neighbor is much more costly. Because love of neighbor isn't just giving away money. Rather, it is being personally involved in our neighbors' lives for no other reason than their own healing and well-being. Even for a stranger, an outcast or someone we despise.
This is a radical form of love. This is the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. This love heals the sick, causes miracles and resurrects the dead. And it is this same love that desires to mold us more and more into God's own image. This is God's free gift of self to all of us.
Now that's generous love.
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Recently he was married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and reads his columns to see if they make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Kevin Considine.
And that's the amount that we Americans gave to charity last year. According to the Giving USA Foundation, it's a record number and is almost $12 billion more than we gave in 2005. To put it in perspective, $295 billion is more than the individual gross domestic products of Denmark, South Africa and Ireland, who, according to the International Monetary Fund, have the 28th, 29th and 30th largest GDPs in the world.
Lest you think that this was all done by the super-rich, the Giving USA Foundation noted otherwise. It was the individual contributions of average Americans that accounted for $223 billion of this record number.
Again, that's a lot of money. It speaks volumes about the culture of generosity in the United States. Yet something else occurs to me as I think about this. At least theologically. And that is, that mere generosity doesn't equal love of neighbor.
Don't get me wrong, almost $300 billion in charitable giving is an amazing feat. It's something to be proud of. And our society is a better place because of it. My point is merely that God looks at these things differently.
My criticism here should be understood in the same vein as a football coach who demands more from his team after a big win. He does this so the team doesn't get arrogant and end up losing the rest of the season.
In that light, I think that our abundant giving should be seen through the eyes of Christ. And through Christ's eyes, mere generosity out of abundance is not the same as love of neighbor.
A passage from Scripture that illustrates this is found in Luke 10:25-37. This is the famous episode of the Good Samaritan. It begins when Jesus has been challenged by a scholar of the law about what to do to inherit eternal life. In response, they both agree that one should love God and love your neighbor.
The scholar then pushes the issue and asks, "'And who is my neighbor?'" Then Jesus proceeds to tell a story. A man is victimized by bandits on the highway and is left for dead. Two religious officials pass by and cannot be bothered. Then, a Samaritan, a member of a marginalized and despised people during that time, comes down the highway. He sees the man, tends to his wounds and then provides for the man's lodging, meals and recovery.
After telling the story, Jesus asks the scholar, "'which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?'" The scholar answers, "'The one who treated him with mercy.'" And Jesus concludes by saying, "'Go and do likewise.'"
This story shows that love is costly. It's not easy and it's not convenient. True love of neighbor is different from mere generosity, because it arises out of whatever it is we actually live on. This type of love is deciding that another person's life and well-being are more important than our own present needs and comforts. Thus, Jesus shows that we are called to love those who impose on us. That is, those who have been victimized and are in need of God's love and healing. They are the ones who have a moral claim on us and our resources.
The crux here is that we don't get to choose who is a neighbor for us to love. God has already done this. And God has pointed toward the victims of the many ills and evils of the world who are in need of healing. Our call, then, is to make God's love manifest for them. And we do this through addressing the causes of suffering and lovingly working to take care of our fellow human beings and building family and community. As we take care of each other, especially the stranger, the poor, and the victims, we as a community are worshiping the Living God of Jesus Christ. This is working to create shalom in the world.
Now $295 billion worth of charitable giving is a good thing. And as a society we should be proud that we have fostered such a generous culture. Because our surplus that we choose to redistribute is the cause of much good in our world. And it puts us on the path to love our neighbor with our own selves, not just with our money.
But we must remember that there is a difference between mere generosity and love of neighbor. Sometimes they overlap, but often they don't. As Jesus shows us in Luke's gospel, generosity is from excess whereas love is self-sacrificial. We choose to be generous, but we are called to love those who impose on us in their need. You see, we have to give up something that is dear to us in order to truly love our neighbor. We have to extend a portion of our own God-given lives to them. This is the model of the cross. This is what opens us up to God working in our lives.
And this is what really changes the world. When we realize that generosity in giving money is expected of us as Christians but that love of neighbor is much more costly. Because love of neighbor isn't just giving away money. Rather, it is being personally involved in our neighbors' lives for no other reason than their own healing and well-being. Even for a stranger, an outcast or someone we despise.
This is a radical form of love. This is the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. This love heals the sick, causes miracles and resurrects the dead. And it is this same love that desires to mold us more and more into God's own image. This is God's free gift of self to all of us.
Now that's generous love.
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Recently he was married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and reads his columns to see if they make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Kevin Considine.